The Game Has Changed
by Steph Marcelino
Summary: Annie was just defeated but Mikasa Ackerman deals with traumatic flashbacks causing her to be more worried about Eren. How does she cope with these haunting memories? Meanwhile, feisty Kyo Sohma realizes that time is running out when he receives a nasty letter from Akito Sohma reminding him of his dark future. Little did they know that life is about to change for them both.
1. Chapter 1

|| Hello everyone! If you did not know, I am re-writing this story! I hope to add much more detail to it and I hope you all enjoy it! Please leave me reviews and let me know how I'm doing! Thank you so much! ^ ^' I hope you enjoy this~ ||

_-Chapter One-_

At first all that was around her was darkness. Mikasa reached her small hand out and tried to grasp what seemed to be nothing but thick blackness. She focused all of her senses and energy on one person, _Eren._ The raven haired girl took a step forward into the darkness. A familiar weight moved with her. Her dark eyes scanned her side and it was just as she thought; she had her 3D Maneuver Gear. She took another step and began to pick up her pace. Soon, she was jogging. If it wasn't for the cold bitter air hitting her face, she would have thought that she was running in place and not moving forward at all.

_Eren, where are you?_

At the thought of the brunette, Mikasa's jog turned into a run. Her feet hit the floor at a faster pace and her heart beat followed in suit. It began to beat faster. Even after running after a while, nothing but darkness seemed to greet her. She could be running in circles for all she knew. Still, she was somehow she was able to keep herself collected.

After what seemed to be like an eternity, Mikasa finally noticed something appear in the distance. She charged forward towards what looked like a white blanket but began to slow down as she arrived. Mikasa reached out her hand to touch the 'blanket' but her fingers grasped nothing.

_It's fog. _Mikasa thought to herself. She pulled out her swords and cautiously began to walk forward. Mikasa desperately wanted to call out to Eren. The only thing that kept her from calling out to him was the fact that she had no idea what lay ahead. Without hesitation she began to walk forward. She had nothing to fear, all she wanted was Eren.

Mikasa felt like the fog consumed her. The texture was different than the blackness that surrounded her just a few seconds before. Now, an icy humidity clung onto her skin. Mikasa did not pay much attention in the atmosphere change. Instead she began to walk forward, ready to defend herself if she had to.  
>A couple of steps later, Mikasa looked around and noticed that she was in what seemed to be an old, abandoned town. As she kept walking forward, the raven haired girl noticed that the fog began to fade. Mikasa looked around and studied her surroundings. She could hear nothing here, so titans did not seem to be a problem at the moment. After thinking for a while, Mikasa came to the conclusion that she would simply use her gear here. It would make the process of finding Eren a lot easier. She pressed the small release button and instantly she flew into the air. Her hair flew behind her and the cold air clung onto her skin as she moved in the air. Her hip tightened, moving her slightly to the left. She then felt the firm grasp of the hook clasping on to a part of the building. Then her hip tightened once again, moving her slightly to the right. This was so natural to her, something easy as breathing. She looked around her. Far to her left she saw a shadow; almost instantly, Mikasa flew towards that direction. With the sudden change in speed, the buildings around her became blurry. The person seemed to have caught onto the fact that Mikasa was chasing them. They picked up their speed; Mikasa cursed under her breath as she moved faster. There was no way that she would let this person get away. Suddenly, the person stopped using their 3-D maneuver gear and they started to run on the roofs. Mikasa, following the person, also stopped using her gear. She quickly began to jump from roof to roof.<p>

_Eren. Are you safe?_

The hooded person suddenly stopped. Mikasa, without hesitation, took her swords out.

"Who are you? Show yourself."

Her voice came strong and bold, no hint of fear or weakness.A slicing noise came from the person and Mikasa charged forward fast and without hesitation. Mikasa looked around and noticed that the hooded person was already gone. Had they jumped from the building? Mikasa began to walk forward but noticed a second figure on the floor. Her heart stopped when she saw a brunette male, facedown. She could recognize Eren anywhere.

"Eren? Eren! Are you-"

Blood. Blood was all over his neck. Mikasa's eyes widened in fear and anger.

"Mikasa…" His soft, feeble voice called out to her.

"Eren what happened?! Eren you'll be fine. You have me, I'll save you." Mikasa stuttered.

"Mikasa…" Eren called out again but slightly louder.

"Are you cold? Have my scarf. You're bleeding a lot…" Mikasa took off her scarf to tighten to wound to stop the bleeding.

"Mikasa!"

"It won't stop! It won't stop! Help me! Someone!" She could feel herself lose control; panic began to overtake her.

"Mikasa! Hey! Wake up!"

"EREN!" Mikasa blurted out.

"Hey, hey! Calm down! It was just a dream; I'm right here!"

Eren's voice rang out and sunshine filled her vision. Mikasa blinked a couple of times as Eren and a worried looking Armin came into view. She felt her head throb and her muscles were extremely stiff. She raised her hand up to her forehead and realized that she had sat up.

_Another nightmare…_

With a small blush, Mikasa relaxed and laid back down, still keeping her hand over her eyes and forehead. Her head sank into her fluffy pillow as she let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Another nightmare?" Armin's soft voice called out to her. She nodded and blushed even more when Eren grabbed her hand,

"You're overreacting, really. I'm fine; I'm here."  
>Eren's warmth melted onto her fingers and slowly began to grow into her hand.<p>

"God Mikasa, you're sweating but your fingers are ice cold! Plus you're shivering. Don't you cover yourself at night?!"

"Eren it's just a symptom of her nightmares. It's not unusual with what just happened. Y'know…the whole _Annie_ situation."

An awkward silence filled the room. He'd said it. Armin said what she feared the most and the only thing that she did not want to talk about. She didn't want to make a big situation out of this but at the same time…she had almost lost Eren because of her. _Twice_.

"Mikasa, you should really try and not worry about it. It's my job to protect you all."

Somehow these remarks made her heart hurt. It was almost as if she was getting stabbed.

"No, I have to watch out for you. I don't care if it's your job to protect us all or if you have to watch horses for the rest of your life, I'm still watching out for you. And no, it's _not _the whole Annie situation. I almost lost Eren. That's all there is to it so don't overthink it."

Mikasa began to get up, and for the first time, she let go of Eren's hand first. Armin noticed her sudden small change but then again, Armin noticed everything. That was the sort of guy he was.

Eren simply raised his eyebrows in surprise by Mikasa's sudden remark. Usually when she had nightmares, she would stay in bed and would listen to Eren and Armin talk. It calmed her deeply; it assured her that they were alive and well. She sighed and went to the bathroom to get changed.

—

Something that Mikasa truly hated was the fact that she could remember the incident extremely well. She would suddenly remember scenes from the incident at random times throughout the day. Specifically, she would get them during the worst times during the day like during a meeting or while someone spoke to her. Armin once explained to her how she looked like,

"_You get very spacey and become unresponsive. It's almost like you're in a daydream."_

He was right, as usual. Mikasa's memories would come back so strong that it was like she was experiencing the whole thing all over again. And_that_ was the worst part of it since all she wanted was to forget the whole thing. The only good thing about this situation was that not many people noticed; she wasn't too social to begin with.

"Mikasa? Mikasa?"

"Hm?" Mikasa blinked once or twice and mentally cursed when she saw Jean. She had done it again, hadn't she?

"Oh, so um…"

"Sorry, I was just lost in some thoughts. Organizing my day and plans."

Jean shifted his weight and ruffled his hair as he looked down,

"It's all good…So, y'know talking about plans, just wondering if you happen to be busy-"

"She happens to be with us for the rest of the day horseface. Get lost." Eren's voice suddenly came forth, Mikasa felt a bit of relief inside of her. It had been happening lately whenever she would see him.

"Why don't you let her talk for herself?! What are you, her father?" Jean spat back nastily.

Mikasa put her hand on Eren's shoulder. She sighed and looked at Jean,

"I might be free tomorrow. Did you have something in mind?"

Jean's face brightened, it was almost as if he had been told that he had won the lottery. Meanwhile Eren's face glared at her in surprise. The only person who seemed to be calm was Armin. She knew extremely well why.

"_You should try to get out more Mikasa. You know…Eren and I won't always be around. Everyone in the Survey Corps is your family now. Not just us." _He told her softly the same day he explained to her how she looked whenever she had her 'dream vision.' Mikasa didn't even consider it back then but it had been almost one month and a half ago when he told her about this. She decided that maybe if she could find a bit of distraction, things would help.

"Oh! I, uh, thought that maybe we could walk around and just talk."

"That sounds really lame and stup-"

"I would love that. How about we try to catch the sunrise? It's been a while." Mikasa knew that she would probably be up from her nightmare only to fall asleep and continue the hell-like dream.

"That sounds great. Yeah! I'll see ya at 6 then? I'll meet you outside of your dorm. Yeah…great! Thanks!" Jean began to jog off excitedly.

"What are you nuts?! His stupidity will rub off on you, Mikasa."

"It's not as if we had plans Eren. He's not that bad; you should try and get along with him."

"Whatever. He's right, I'm not your father. You know you've been acting off ever since the whole _Annie_ situation. Need I remind you that I'm _not_your son? So stop with this whole odd act that you're pulling off Mikasa."

Mikasa stopped walking. He had struck a nerve.  
>"Will you ever understand Eren? This, <em>all<em> of this that I am 'pulling' off is for you. Because I care for you and I love you, Eren. Besides, it was what your mother wanted-"  
>"Yeah? Well you can cut it off because I never asked for your care and affection. I'm not some weak kid that can't do this. We've been through this. Plus, I'm humanity's only hope."<p>

Mikasa felt her fist tighten and her teeth clench. She felt her mouth get dry and was at a loss for words.

"So how was your training Mikasa?" Armin's soft voice interrupted the awful silence. Mikasa looked at Armin,

"It was the same as always. I think I'm going to be heading out. I have a killer headache…" Mikasa was far when she heard Eren's voice,

"What's her problem?"  
>"Eren…" Armin sounded a bit uncertain.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**-Chapter 2-**

|| Hello again! I hope you liked the first chapter! Here's the second chapter! ^ ^' ||

There was darkness once again, except this time, it only lasted for a couple of minutes. After blinking a couple of times, Mikasa realized she was on top of a building. She sighed slightly as she began to look for Eren, once again.

As she began to jump from building to building, Mikasa encountered someone different.

"Annie." She stated coldly and bitterly.

The blond haired girl jumped to another roof but before Mikasa could follow someone else caught her eye.

"Eren…Eren you're safe." Relief was clearly shown through her voice. The brunette simply looked at her. His emerald eyes showed no emotion.

"Eren, come." Annie's voice rang from behind Eren. Almost instantly, Eren turned around but Mikasa made her way and put her hand on his shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?! Don't you remember who she is?!" Eren aggressively shook her off as he glared her down,

"You're _not_ my mother. Lay off, Mikasa." He spat nastily as he jumped from the roof.

"Eren!" Mikasa reached as she grasped noting but air.

*beep beep* *beep beep* *beep beep*

Mikasa opened her eyes as she took a deep breath. Life flooded her veins and the air was refreshing in her lungs but something kept echoing in her mind.

"You're not my_ mother_. Lay off, Mikasa."

Mikasa sat up as she sighed. Why did her heart hurt? Why was all of this happening? Suddenly someone knocked on her window. Mikasa blinked and suddenly she remembered her plans with Jean. Darn it. She suddenly wished that she had just said no. Sighing, Mikasa quickly changed into pants and a sweater. She wrapped her red scarf around her as she walked out. Eren's voice still rang in her mind,

"You're not my_ mother_. Lay off, Mikasa."

It was still dark outside and the morning was crisp.

"Do you carry that thing around everywhere you go?"

Mikasa looked at Jean with a dead expression,

"Sorry, sorry. Good morning, thanks for coming out."

Mikasa nodded as she began to walk next to Jean.

"You look…frightened. Are you okay? Did you have a bad dream? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Mikasa's eyes widened. She wasn't used to anyone asking or even caring, outside of Eren and Armin. It was…kind of nice.

"…Just had a bad dream, is all. Thanks for coming out."

Jean smiled as he stretched,

"Yeah, no problem! So…sunrise eh? Why did you choose this? N-not that I mind!" He added quickly at the end, Mikasa merely shrugged.

"It's a beautiful world…it's something as simple as the sunrise that make me realize that. The crisp air of the morning, the quietness, everyone is asleep and yet you're awake to witness something so beautiful. It's almost like your own private show."

"Well damn. When you put it that way, I guess it is something nice. Well either way, I know where to take you. Follow me!"

Mikasa nodded as she began to follow Jean.

"…You're not my_ mother_. Lay off, Mikasa."

Mikasa shook her head of the memory. _No_ it wasn't a memory. It was a _dream_. …although…those words were a memory, weren't they?

"So whaddya think?"

"Hm?" Mikasa looked at Jean as she realized that they were in a hill besides a big tree.

"I-I used to come here all the time when I was younger and play. As soon as you said that you wanted to check out the sunrise, I thought of this place. I'm amazing, I know. No need to thank me."

Mikasa rolled her eyes, he was quite confident wasn't he?

"Oh right. It's almost time for the sunrise, come on!"

Mikasa blinked wondering what he was talking about when he suddenly got down on one knee and he pointed up,

"Ladies first. You can use my knee to get up and start climbing. Or you can do just that-" he mentioned as Mikasa simply jumped and brought herself up to the tree. After climbing for a bit and almost reaching the top, Jean pointed out a thick branch that was up above most others.

"There, we can sit there."

Mikasa's heart seemed to stop for just one second.  
>"Hey Jean, this is the tallest tree here isn't it?"<p>

He grinned confidently at her,

"Sure is! I used to daydream of climbing this one day. I guess today is that day."

That was kind of sweet.

"Ah and there it is. The sunrise and our own private show that you were just talking about."

Mikasa looked ahead as different colors filled her eyes. The darkness seemed to be leaving as the sweet, yellow orange orb rose. The warm colors melted against each other; there were reds, pinks, yellow, and a bit of blue. She caught sight of Jean, smiling like a dork at the sunrise. This was surreal…it was almost as if it was a dream. Being here enjoying something amazing with someone that _wasn't _Eren.

But suddenly she was in a large forest. Her heart was racing and felt like it was about to leave her chest.

_Eren._

A large female titan suddenly opened her mouth. Mikasa's attention was quickly brought to the Eren's Titan form that was slumped against the tree.

No, no, no. Not Eren. No, _NO!_

The female titan ate Eren.

_EREN. Eren! _Anger boiled within her, _Give Eren back…NOW! GIVE HIM BACK!_

"Mikasa! Oy, Mikasa!"

Mikasa's eyes blinked as she felt something warm around her. What was going on? Jean was suddenly extremely close to her,

"What? Why are you so close, what's going on?! Is Eren okay?! Eren-"  
>Jean rolled his eyes, he seemed annoyed.<p>

"For _once_, will you think about yourself first?! He's fine, I'm sure. Probably still sleeping, that lazy ass. It's actually _you_ that I'm worried about! What the _hell _is going on here? One minute you're looking at the sunrise with…with a lovely expression and suddenly you began to fade away. I don't know…I don't know how to explain this okay?! It's just that you _weren't _here. Your…your eyes weren't here anymore. So I called out to you but you simply stared off. And then you started to lean back. You scared the hell outta me, I thought you were going to fall so I hugged you to keep you from falling…you're your head slouched back so I rearranged it so that you were leaning against me…Mikasa are you sick?"

Mikasa cleared her throat; it had never gotten this bad before. She usually had strength in her body…

"I'm fine."  
>"Really? Are you now?"<p>

"Yes. Just sleepy."  
>"Your eyes were <em>open.<em> Your head slouched back as if you were sleeping but your eyes…"

"I said I'm fine Jean." Mikasa noticed he was still holding onto her. She began to shrug him off.

"_You're clearly not. _Listen-"

"I have to head back now."

"_I said, listen Mikasa._" His voice sounded angry and annoyed. She stopped and stared at him. What was his problem?

"You're not okay. Don't lie to me. I may be an idiot but I'm not stupid. You don't have to act strong for me, you hear? I want the truth because I actually care about your health. Whereas you obviously _don't_ which is fucking annoying! What's going on?!"

Mikasa stared at him. She wasn't used to this…she was used to shrugging this off and roughing on through. And it was not going to change anytime soon. IF she was going to ever open up, it would be for Eren.

"Fine. I'll ask Eren."

"No. Please don't. He doesn't know."

"…then who does?!"

"Armin. Only because he observed it. I'll take care of myself. Now let me go."  
>"Fine. Whatever, if this is how you're going to take care of yourself, that's fine. None of my business." He let go of her as he sighed annoyingly.<p>

Mikasa felt a bit sad…she had pushed her only chance of a friend away…had she always been this way?

"I'm sorry Jean. I'll tell you when I find a solution…I promise. I'll be fine; I don't need anyone's help. I think I should get going…"

They began to head down the tree and the whole way back there was silence between them. As he walked her to her door, she looked at him.

"Jean…thanks. I hope we can do this again sometime. This…this private show that I talked about is better with someone else."

"Yeah, fine. Please think about what I said…I'm always around." He blushed a bit as he walked off.

Mikasa sighed as she opened the door. Eren and Armin where in there, had something happened?

"Hey…are you guys alright?" Armin looked at her in a worried way, oh no. Had he told Eren abou her PTSD?

"Mikasa, what the hell?!"

Mikasa looked at Eren, now what was going on? She had left him alone hadn't she?

"…He saw that you and Jean where up in the tree…" Armin explained quietly,

"Yeah, so? I can't hang out with Jean?"

"Don't lie to me. How dare you lie to us Mikasa?! Really? You should have told me that you were dating that damn horse face!"  
>"What are you going on about Eren? I have no idea what you're talking about."<p>

"Stop it. Stop lying to us. I went up to the tree and I saw how snug you were with him. Was it comfortable Mikasa? Being held by that nasty Jean. I saw how he held you and how you had your head on his shoulder!"

Mikasa's eyes widened.  
>"I…I wasn't…he was just…" Mikasa stuttered unsure of what to say. Armin knew what was going on and that is why he was worried. She was grateful that he hadn't said anything to Eren.<p>

"He wasn't what Mikasa? I saw you!" His eyes were full of betrayal and hurt.

"Eren, I don't understand you! One minute you're going off on how I am not your mother and now you suddenly act as if you're _my_ mother!"  
>"So you <em>are<em> dating…" He sounded so disgusted, it hurt her.

_No…no we aren't dating Eren. Please…please understand._

"It's her PTSD. You don't know what you're talking about Eren."

Mikasa shot a glare towards Armin.

"Her what?" Eren looked at Armin in surprise.

"Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. It is a type of mental emotional trauma. It happens after an extreme, traumatic event. Mikasa gets horrible flashbacks of when Annie ate you. She almost lost you and it's been haunting her ever since-"

"Armin, please." Mikasa pleaded.

"Mikasa. He needs to know…don't you think? Eren, you haven't noticed but Mikasa spaces out and she gets pretty realistic flashbacks of this incident. It can last from 5 minutes to about 15 minutes. My guess is that today, she experienced it strongly. She has not been sleeping well because of her nightmares so when she experienced it with Jean today, her body gave out. That's why he was holding onto her. You should be thanking Jean because Mikasa would have fallen if he hadn't been there. She hasn't told you because she didn't want to make you worry. Besides, you're already getting annoyed because she gets worried because of her dreams. She didn't want you to feel even more upset because of her anxiety."

Eren looked over at Mikasa with his mouth half open from shock. Mikasa had been looking at the floor and she felt silent tears streaming down her face. _Why…why are humans so weak? Why am I so weak? Eren…_

Eren walked over to Mikasa and gave her a soft hug,

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear as she broke down and cried into his shoulder. Armin smiled slightly and sighed in relief.


	3. Chapter 3

**-Chapter 3- **

Things for Mikasa Ackerman had been doing well. After Armin explained to Eren what Mikasa was going through, she felt much better and he was kinder. Eren always cared about her and even though she wasn't that strong at the moment, he made her feel stronger. Just seeing him by her side made her feel much more reassured and safer. For the first time in about two months, Mikasa did not have any more flashbacks of the incident. It almost seemed that for the rest of the day, she was in a dream, a very peaceful dream. When nightfall came, she hesitantly said goodbye to Eren and Armin. She did not want to go to sleep…she knew what was waiting for her.

"Mikasa…want me to keep you company tonight? I understand now that Armin's explained it to me and I don't want you to experience what happened this morning again. You need rest." Mikasa's eyes widened as she nodded gently.

Mikasa lay on her back as she heard Eren's soft breath; it calmed her immensely and she absolutely loved it. Slowly she began to drift off to sleep…

"Mikasa?"

Mikasa opened her eyes as the sunlight completely filled her vision.

"You look a lot better, Mikasa. I'm glad Eren stayed with you."

After blinking a couple of more times, she realized it was Armin who was speaking.  
>"Where's Eren?"<p>

"I'm not sure to be honest. I came to check up on you today but I didn't find him. Maybe he's already eating breakfast?" He sounded a bit unsure. The thought of Eren going on without them was a bit weird.

"Either way, we have a meeting with Erwin. I think he's going to talk about a new plan for the Expedition that's coming soon."

Mikasa nodded as she went to her bathroom to get changed.

She and Armin walked towards the dining hall quietly. He suddenly broke the silence,

"Mikasa, do you think you're going to be well enough to-"

"Yes. I must. It's to protect you and Eren." Mikasa's voice came off sounding strong and confident.

"But what if you get one of your flashbacks?"  
>"…I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out."<p>

Armin looked at her giving her a worried look. She knew she was testing her chances with this but there was no way that she would let Armin and Eren face titans without her. As they both entered, they were surprised to see Eren sitting down having his meal. Mikasa wondered if anything was wrong but decided not to say anything for the moment. After eating and putting their plates away, Mikasa clearly noticed that Eren had not spoken a single thing to her and Armin. Even when they said good morning or if he slept well he simply nodded. There was something off about him and Mikasa began to worry.

"Eren…are you okay?" Mikasa whispered lightly as they walked towards their meeting with Erwin and the others.

He simply stared ahead, not acknowledging her.

"_Eren_." Mikasa put her hand on his shoulder lightly,

"Yes! Stop asking and being so nosy, Mikasa." He suddenly yelled at her as he shook her off and walked away quickly. Mikasa and Armin stared at him, Armin with a surprised expression and Mikasa with a quiet one.

"Don't worry Mikasa. He's probably stressed out because of his lack of control in titan form."

Mikasa looked at Armin with a soft expression, he was probably right.

The meeting seemed to go on for a very long time but at the same time it went by quickly.

Mikasa understood the small changes that were going on. They were to leave early in the morning in two days. Orders to train in the early afternoon and rest the day before the expedition were given to them all. As they were dismissed, Erwin called Eren to stay for a bit. She looked back as Levi stood next to Erwin, his face expressionless. Mikasa shifted uncomfortably outside of the meeting room as she waited for Eren.

"My, my~ Waiting for Eren huh? You are quite the protector, Mikasa-chan!" Hanji's voice boomed over, filling the hallway. Mikasa nodded lightly,

"We're going to need Eren for the rest of today and tomorrow. It would be best if you followed the orders that were given to you, Ackerman." Levi's cold voice stood out from Hanji's boisterous tone.

"Why?" Mikasa stared at Levi, demanding an answer.

"Well, I'm going to have to see how he's doing in his titan form! Before the expedition, you know~?" Hanji admitted.  
>"Are you serious? Do you know how exhausting that is for Eren? I won't allow it-"<p>

"No one asked you, Mikasa. It's fine by me. If I don't push myself, then how am I going to be able to save all of humanity?" Eren spoke up, he was being irrational again.  
>"Listen Eren, I know you want to do your best but you have to rest in order to accomplish it. If you push yourself, you'll lose control! Please just think about it."<p>

"Ackerman, are you going against our orders?" Levi's voice sounded challenging.

"Yes, I am. For Eren-"

"Are you sure it's for him? Or are you too selfish to let him make his own decisions? Better be careful, Ackerman. A loyalty like yours will become a blade piercing those you hold dear."

Mikasa's eyes widened as his colds words made their way to her heart.

No, that's not true. That wasn't true. She was sure that she was doing this for Eren, it was his mother's dying wish…_No! I-I…No! You're wrong!_

"…Mikasa?"

Mikasa blinked, Armin called out and a worried Jean stood next to him.

"Mikasa, where's Eren? What happened?"

Mikasa looked around, she was alone. Had she been spacing out all this time?

"Oy, are you okay?" Jean called out to her,

"I'm fine…Eren. Eren is with Hanji trying to work on controlling his titan powers."

Armin sighed, knowing that Mikasa had just spaced out a bit.

"Armin…do you think that I hold on to Eren too tight?" Mikasa blurted out, she couldn't get Levi's words out of her mind. Mikasa was greeted with silence and she instantly knew that she was. But…she didn't mean it. She just wanted to be safe. She wanted to live in a quiet, peaceful town and instead Eren chose this! She only followed him to make sure that he would survive…

"Hey now, it's okay. I understand that you worry for Eren and I. I know it must be hard for you…" Armin reassured her and it made her smile a small bit. He was always there to comfort her wasn't he?

"Listen, it doesn't seem like Levi and the others will listen to you so how about we train instead? If we work hard together at training, we can try and protect Eren while we're out in the battle field!"

"Really, Armin?" Mikasa smiled lightly. That meant the world to her because Armin wasn't really too keen when it came to working out.

Mikasa and Armin spent the rest of the day training. She helped him with his form and trained him while giving him tips to make things easier for him. The next day went by quickly, thank goodness. She hung out with Eren and Armin the night before the expedition and tried to not ask him about his titan form training, she didn't want to stress him out. The three of them sat on the grass as they looked at the stars above them. Mikasa sighed with worry as she tried to enjoy the seconds of peace before the storm that was coming the next day.


	4. Chapter 4

**-Chapter 4-**

"ARE YOU READY TO OFFER YOUR EVERYTHING TO HUMANITY?!" Erwin Smith's strong, booming voice reached all the soldiers' ears as they sat on their horses. A loud, "YES" spread throughout the group and the gates began to open up.

The sky was cloudy that day, of course it was. Mikasa hoped with all her might that it wouldn't rain.

She looked over at Eren, "Please stay close to me."

Before he could answer she said the same thing to Armin, who nodded with a soft look,

"I won't let anything happen to you Armin. It's okay, just remember what I taught you yesterday." Mikasa reassured Armin.

Armin smiled and began to look calm.

The horses began to move forward and adrenaline began to kick in. The land that lay ahead couldn't look drier. The trees without the green leaves looked a bit haunting but that wasn't what was unnerving Mikasa. There was a look on Erwin Smith's face that made her wonder what exactly was waiting for them all. She cleared her mind of all the garbage, worries, and stress. In order to survive in this world, you had to fight and that was exactly what she intended to do. Fight or die trying for Eren and Armin.

The groups began to split into three different ways. Thankfully, she was with Armin and Eren. After a while of simply riding on ahead, they got into a part that had old, ruined houses. They stopped there for a while to wait for a signal that it was safe to keep on going but none came. Had things turned out for the worst again? Slightly, it began to rain when suddenly a black flare appeared. Mikasa took out her blades instantly knowing very well what exactly was coming,

"A deviant titan this fast? Ackerman, make sure it Eren is safe." Levi took out his blades and began to ride, the crew began to follow Levi and Mikasa was towards the back watching over the group.

"Two other black fares! One from our right and one from our left, Levi!" Mikasa called out. She couldn't exactly hear what Levi had said because it had begun to rain.  
>Where were all of these deviant titans coming from? What was Erwin hiding? Mikasa could feel her blood boiling, waiting to take out a deviant titan as soon as it came.<p>

She turned around, there they were. Two of them, rather large,

"Two of them are approaching, they are rather large! Levi, what are your orders?!" Mikasa yelled through the group,

"Take them out, Ackerman. I'll take the other one-" Suddenly there was another deviant titan that was approaching quickly from behind the group. Mikasa nodded as she began to slow down her horse and waited for the titans to get closer to her.

Of course, they ignored her and went straight past her. They were after Eren where they not? What exactly did Eren have that they needed to have him?

Mikasa fired the 3D maneuver gear towards the feet of the deviant titan. The momentum that she got was more than enough to send her flying up in the air. She began to fall down quickly, which helped her slice enough skin off of the first titan that she was supposed to destroy. Next came a fairly larger one that had not paid a single attention to her as she killed the last titan. She jumped and fired the gear; it sunk onto the lower back of the titan. The cold rain hit her face rather hard as she swung closer to the titan. Releasing the gear's clutches, she went straight ahead towards the neck and she sliced it easily and effortlessly.

"Mikasa!" Armin yelled towards her as he brought her horse,

"Thanks Armin, let's go."

"Good work Ackerman. Damn it. Here comes three more. Let's move! Come on, double speed!"

Mikasa looked behind her. They were pretty far away but they were coming towards them very quickly.  
>Mikasa went up to Levi,<p>

"Do you know what is going on?"

"No. I just know that we were suspecting for Eren to be seriously attacked." Mikasa's eyes widened with anger,

"Which is why we have a second plan!" Erwin's voice boomed behind her and noticed that they were a considerably larger group.

Armin's eyes widened as he realized what was going on, he always caught on to Erwin's plans rather fast. Mikasa just wanted Eren to be safe, he looked worried, ready to turn into a titan if need be. Was he in on the real plan?

"Hanji!" Erwin called out.  
>"Alright~! Let's go everyone, our adventures of our day sadly end here~!" Hanji turned around and began to ride towards the titans. Mikasa followed suit and rode behind as she, once again, took her blades out.<p>

"Ohoho, no no Mikasa-chan, we don't need those!" Mikasa put them away and Hanji threw something at her,

"A gallon?"

"Yes, yes! I'm going to need for you to make your way around these titans and pour the liquid all over them! And then you can use this!" She was thrown a metal device that looked like a gun.

Mikasa pressed a button and flames came dancing out. So, they were going to burn them?

"Who knows what will happen?! Hopefully it'll buy us some time!" Hanji laughed joyfully as Mikasa looked at her in a concerned manner.

"You take those two and I'll take the other two that are just appearing! Deal? Okay off we goooo~!" Hanji flew in the air and Mikasa began to follow the given orders. After the titans were on fire, they took a different route so that they wouldn't have to worry about them.

They reached a small abandoned town that looked destroyed. The rain was still coming down fast.

"Let's stop for a small bit here." Erwin ordered as he began to look through the deserted town.

"Darn it, I wanted to see if the fire would do anything to the titans!" Hanji began to whine.

"How are you guys doing?" Mikasa asked Eren and Armin,

"Good. You're doing great Mikasa!" Armin nodded as Eren nodded as well.

"Do you know what's going on Armin? I noticed earlier that you caught on to the plan." Mikasa asked Armin.

"I don't really know what is going on, but I do know that Smith only told Eren, Hanji, and Levi. They still don't know who to trust."

Mikasa nodded, that made plenty of sense-

A large, crumbling sound came from behind them. Mikasa turned around, instinctively moving her horse and getting in front of Eren and Armin.

"RETREAT! EVERYONE RETREAT, TITANS ARE COMING!" Erwin came forth from behind a building and right behind him was a crawling, jumping titan.

"Eren, Armin let's go!"

Mikasa and the rest of the group began to ride away from the town quickly. At the moment she didn't have time to worry why this was happening.

The next few scenes happened slowly in Mikasa's mind, but quickly at the same time. It was how all tragic events happened, wasn't it? Just like when she saw Eren get taken by Annie, it was slow motion for her but at the same time it happened so fast. There was nothing she could do about it just like there was nothing that she could do about the events that were unfolding in front of her.

"MIKASA WATCH OUT-"

Mikasa turned her head to the right as she passed a building and saw the crawling titan jumping towards her direction. She sped up but looked behind to see that Armin and Eren's horses had been hit and within a couple of seconds Mikasa was by their side. Armin was on the floor and he looked unconscious, Eren was bleeding but he seemed alright.

Mikasa quickly got off her horse and began to bring Armin onto her horse.

"Get on- Quickly Eren!" Eren shook his head as he brought his hand up to his mouth. Mikasa pulled him onto the horse,

"The rest of the titans aren't here yet! Once they catch up, I am sure that we'll need you. Please." Mikasa pleaded.

"Ackerman, behind you!" Levi's voice was clear. The jumping titan was coming behind her, there was no space on the horse for her. Not with their 3-D gear.

"No, Mikasa! No, no!" Eren seemed to recognize her thoughts almost instantly as she began to push the horse out of the way.

She would survive; she would always survive for Eren. Fight to survive right? Mikasa shot her gear towards the bottom of a nearby crumbled house. She began to slide quickly towards that direction and slid underneath the jumping titan. As soon as she got to the crumbled house, she shot her gear towards the titan and almost instantly was taken towards it.

_'__Fight to survive.' _

She kept telling herself quietly and confidently. As Mikasa rose in the air to kill the crawling titan, she saw about a dozen of titans coming for her too. Instantly she saw to see if Eren was safe and noticed that they were already far ahead. She smiled lightly at him as she nodded; an angry looking Eren was seen fighting to get back to her.

Reality sunk in as she began to drop towards the titan and her heart dropped. Even if there was only this titan that she had to defeat, there wouldn't be time for them to stop and wait for her to catch up. There were only about 10 soldiers left…the brutal truth was that they needed a distraction. That distraction had been Mikasa, she had chosen that destiny the minute she let Eren and Armin onto her horse.

Once she sliced the neck of the crawling titan she began to make her way into the small town ready to face the incoming titans. She knew she could kill them, she was worth 100 soldiers. She was going to stay alive for as long as she possibly could, for Eren.

The cold rain was still coming down and Mikasa had just finished the last titan. She gasped from pain, her heart was beating fast and her breathing was hard. She had been knocked to the floor a couple of times, she could feel a sharp pain on her ribs but she still hadn't given up. Mikasa made her way slowly towards a house that was somehow still intact. She closed the door and rested on a corner far away from the window. The room looked peaceful. It was oddly still clean and it was almost as if someone had just been there. There was a bed, table and a countertop left; the rest of the house had been diminished somehow. Mikasa suddenly noticed a wooden square on the floor beneath the bed. Mikasa's body began to shake and she realized that more titans had somehow been attracted to this place, the loud thumps where the sound of their steps. Mikasa groaned every time her body shook but she was going to have to see if there was something that could save her life underneath that bed. She could collapse from pain when she was dead.

Mikasa crawled towards the bed and realized that it was locked. She tried not to panic and took a deep breath. _Fight to survive. Fight to survive_. She firmly told herself and began to look throughout the room to see if she could find a key. She found nothing so she made her way towards the bed. She would have to hide in there, there was no time to try and find another safe building because the titans were now roaming close to that house. She laid there trying to breathe lightly but found it rather difficult with the piercing feeling that accompanied every breath.

"There." Mikasa panted when she saw the key underneath the bed. The titans seemed to be right outside the small house so Mikasa wasted no time. She reached for the key and immediately tried to open the small door, the small home that she was in began to creak and Mikasa knew immediately that it was about to fall down. There was no way that she would survive if the whole house came down on her but she would try until the end.

There was enough room for Mikasa to fit in, so thankfully she wasted no time taking her 3D gear off. As she begun to slide into the opening, a loud crashing noise swept over the room and Mikasa knew she had run out of time. The small home was coming down. Immediately she tried to fit herself in. As the raven haired girl closed the wooden door, she was mortified to see through a small opening that there were dozens of titans wondering about. Mikasa heard the house fall apart, she closed her eyes tightly and hoped that the wooden door was strong enough but doubted it. The loud noises of the titans roaming around and the chaos of the house falling in on itself made it hard for her to think. Suddenly, Mikasa felt an overwhelming crush all over her body and knew that indeed, the wooden door had not been strong enough. Shutting her eyes tightly she managed to spare her last thought to Eren:

_Eren. Thank you…for teaching me how to live. Thank you for giving me hope and for being by my side…_

And with that, Mikasa felt a cold darkness grow throughout her limp, lifeless body.


	5. Chapter 5

**-Chapter 5-**

A bright light was shining on Mikasa's face. _Is this the afterlife? _Mikasa opened her eyes. She was lying on the grass close to a tree and there were several other trees all around her. Was she taken back to Eren?

Mikasa opened her dry mouth to call out to him but only yelped in pain. All feeling began to creep up on her body slowly. Her head was aching and her sides were screaming from pain. Her fingers were numb with cold and she couldn't feel her legs. What was going on?

"Eren…" She managed to whisper as she began to look around the forest area. She didn't think she was back home, she didn't recognize the trees at all. She had to get to a safe spot or else the titans might come. As far as she knew she might be in the Forest of Big Trees.

So many questions were racing through her mind. Where was she? Hadn't she shut herself in a small storage area on the floor? Hadn't she killed some titans before the house fell down?

Then…where was she?

She managed to sit up after groaning with pain, she tried to keep her sound at a low level just in case anyone was around or if titans were around.

After crawling close to a tree, Mikasa rested against it as she looked around. Sweat was trickling down from the pain her body was experiencing. But she didn't care; all she cared for was that she had managed to stay alive! For Eren she had! She so desperately wanted to see him, to let him know that she was okay! She maybe had a few broken ribs but that would heal really soon. Minutes turned to hours before Mikasa stood up. She was determined to find someone or anything to help her find out where she was.

Step by step she noticed that this wasn't the Forest of Big trees. Without thinking about it she took out her blades from her gear, better safe than sorry.

Mikasa tried to clear out her mind: questions later, safety first. She was starting to get frustrated after walking and walking but getting nowhere until she saw something that caught her eye. It seemed like it was another human? Mikasa wasted no time and made her way towards the small speck of a human that she saw. The closer she got the more she realized that he was practicing some sort of martial arts and he wasn't half bad. Perhaps he was practicing to enter into the military…who knew? The way that he focused almost made her smile and it made her heart jump. He had the same expression that Eren had, it made her desire to get back to Eren even more.

She noticed that there was a house, maybe it was his house. She felt grateful because her sides were in agony- ignoring them at the moment was getting very difficult. She took a deep breath and straightened herself by a tree before talking to the boy. She didn't want to show any signs of injury just in case he was working with Annie…

"Hello. My name is Mikasa Ackernan, I'm with the Survey Corps." Mikasa called out as she did her soldier's salute. Feet apart, left hand behind her back, and right hand on her heart.

"The hell?! How did you get here?!" The orange haired boy snapped quickly but Mikasa ignored his comment and continued, this was no time to play games with her.

"I am looking for my squad, I'm with Erwin Smith. I'm sure you've heard of him. Where is this place? I need to get back to Eren." Mikasa's serious gaze melted onto the red eyes of the orange haired boy. He looked absolutely confused as he looked at her in a judging way; Mikasa became furious, she could feel her skin boiling. If this boy knew anything at all and wasn't saying anything about it, she would surely make him suffer for it.

She took a step and grabbed him by the collar,

"Let me make myself clear, boy. I am not messing with you, you _will_ tell me what is going on."

What if he was working with Annie? This was why Erwin Smith wouldn't trust the whole team, it was hard to know who was on their side and who wasn't. The boy tried to shake free from her grasp so Mikasa let him go,

"What the hell are you goin' on about?! What's your problem lady? Did you just escape the mental hospital?! Go away from here! You're in the wrong place, lady." He spat back. The boy's eyes suddenly widened when he focused on the raven haired girl. She had a pretty big gash on her head and she looked beat. Suddenly, Mikasa took one good look at him before she kicked him on the chest, quickly and efficiently. The pain from her ribs spread and she collapsed. Still, she managed to get up.

"If…If you're working with Annie and the others, you'll be sorry. I'll give you one more chance." The boy stood up rather very surprised.

Had she just kicked him? He just got beat up by a girl! How humiliating.

"Now listen here you-" he stopped when he saw her collapse. She was breathing very hard and he could see her shaking. What the hell was going on with her? Damn it all.

"Oy, are you alright?! What the hell is wrong with you? Did you get in a fight?!" The girl suddenly stood up, her face was colorless and she didn't look okay.

"I'm _fine._" She panted.

"I might be a jerk but I won't deny it when someone looks like shit. Damn it, if Shigure finds out, he won't drop this for a long time. Can you walk? Come, I'll help you."

Mikasa looked at him, unsure of whether to trust him or not.

"Fine. But what's your name? And where am I?"

"Kyo. Sohma, Kyo. And you're in Japan in a town called Shinjuku." Kyo began to walk her towards the house. Once they were inside, he called the only person who knew was around for the moment, Hatori.

"Hatori. Yes, I know it's me damn it. Listen I need your help-"

But that was as much as Mikasa heard because darkness began to sweep over her body.

"She has a lot of strength. Her ribs are broken, she's going to have to rest. How did she manage to still beat you with a broken rib, Kyo?"  
>"Shut up! If she wasn't a girl, I would have beaten her!"<p>

"She also seems to have gotten a concussion; I stitched up her open wound on her forehead and she also had an open wound on the side. Who is she Kyo?"

"Mikasa Ackerman."  
>"And you know her?"<p>

"I ran into her in the mountains when I was training with Sensei." Kyo forcefully said. Hatori nodded as he stood up.

"Have her take these pain medications every 2 hours- whatever happened to her, I'm surprised she endured staying composed until now…"

Mikasa lost consciousness once again.

Mikasa dreamed of Eren. She dreamt of the day that they met and how he saved her. It was peaceful and quiet in her dreams, she never wanted to wake up…

"Yo. You're up." Mikasa blinked a couple of times and noticed that she was in a white room.

"W-where am I?" Mikasa felt a sharp pain in her side, she tried to sit up.

"Woah- don't sit up yet! Are you stupid? You broke your ribs and you hit your head really hard. What the hell happened to you?! Who are you?!" The orange haired boy looked rather annoyed.

"Mikasa Ackerman. I was with my team on an expedition and I was left behind…titans attacked but I managed to stay alive. Now I'm looking for Eren…he's in danger." Mikasa's breathing got hard once again.

Kyo looked at her and blinked a couple of times. Had she hit her head _that_ hard?!

"Yeah…listen. You hit your head pretty hard. Did you perhaps escape from the mental-"

"Say that one more time and I won't care to beat you." Mikasa glared at him. Why was this boy disrespecting her?! Who was he? Did he know that she was Military?

"Alright, alright! Listen it's almost night time. Uh…just go to sleep and I'll see ya tomorrow I guess." And with that Kyo left the room. Mikasa sighed as she began to wonder what the hell was going on.

Mikasa woke up and felt her strength back again. She stretched and even though her ribs were still sore, she felt better. Today was the day that she would go outside and figure out where the hell she was. Mikasa looked at herself in a mirror. Her head was stitched and her side was wrapped. What had happened? Did a doctor stop by? Mikasa got her 3-D Gear on and opened the door. She realized that she was in a two story house. It wasn't half bad. Someone down stairs was cooking; it was probably that Kyo kid. Mikasa walked into the kitchen as she looked around. There was so many different devices that this household had. Was it maybe in the inner district? She was probably in Wall Sina then…closest to the king and all of the disgusting selfish people.

"Is this the Sina district?" Mikasa asked as Kyo slightly jumped,

"What the hell! Are you always so quiet?! And…no? This is Shinjuku!" Kyo looked at her, still feeling unnerved. This girl was either on some drug or she escaped a mental hospital.

"Wait, wait why are you up?! You've been resting for only 2 days?" He looked at her in disbelief as Mikasa looked shocked,

"3 days?! I've been missing for 3 days?"  
>"Well yeah. You slept through 2 days. And today is the third day."<p>

Mikasa took a deep breath as she looked around the room. It did not take a while to understand what was going on anymore. Now that she was thinking clearly, a horrifying idea of what was going on was forming in her mind. She didn't recognize anything and the devices here looked too advanced. Plus…this boy had no idea what she was talking about. Even if someone didn't know who Erwin Smith was they would react to the word Titan! Mikasa's heart rate dropped ever so slightly,

"Hey…Kyo, what year is this?" Mikasa looked at him urgently and suddenly felt like her throat was dry. That was Kyo's last nerve had been used. Was she like that damn rat? She was obviously testing his mental skills!

"Are you stupid?! It's 2001. What's with all these odd-" Kyo saw Mikasa get up. She put her hands on her head and walked out of the room.

"Oy! Where are you going?!"

_What the hell is wrong with that girl? _He watched her run into the forest but the weirdest thing happened next. She jumped into the air and started flying towards the trees.

_What the hell? __The orange haired boy began to think when he suddenly heard a voice that made him freeze,_

"Kyo-kun!"

Tohru. He knew damn well who was going to be with her-

"Don't bother yourself with trying to communicate with an idiot, Miss Honda."

"Oy rat! Shut the hell up! You're the one who's being an idiot here, since you're jumping to conclusions!" Kyo could feel his blood boiling with anger. Just hearing that damn rat's voice made him want to punch everything in his way. He shook his head and looked at the forest to see if Mikasa was still flying in the air, but she had gone. Had he imagined it all?

"Kyo-kun? Did you have company?" Tohru's cheerful voice came into his ears.  
>"He must have. He was looking at the forest as we came by. It must have been Kagura."<p>

Kyo sighed as he walked towards the house. He quietly said,

"No. It wasn't her." He then looked at Torhu who tilted her head,

"Who did you have over Kyo-kun? Did you bring a friend over?"

_Shit. I shouldn't have said that. How am I going to explain this whacko to them? Titans, walls, and whatever the hell she was talking about. What am I supposed to say?_

"Honda-san, that cat doesn't have any friends. His voice is too loud and annoying, no one could stand it. I'm going to pack."  
>"Shut up! Just because you're the president of the damn school doesn't mean anything! You're so annoying, stupid rat!" Kyo yelled at him as he went up the stairs. He hated him. Every inch of his being hated that damn rat. Whatever he did, he had to beat him. Or else...he would end up in that room...<p>

"Sorry, Kyo-kun. I shouldn't be nosy when it comes to you. I just care about you, that's all." Tohru picked up the cups and took them to the kitchen. Guilt took over Kyo's anger.

"N-no! I mean, it's okay. I just saw someone that I had seen in the mountains. When I was training..."

"Oh! When you were fighting with bears!" Tohru clasped her hands with joy.

"NO! I didn't fight bears! Ugh. How was the school trip?"

"Oh it was lovely! I wish you would have come too Kyo-kun!" Tohru looked at the floor and instantly knew that she was feeling guilty about the fight that he had with that damn rat.

"Hey Tohru...listen..." He swallowed and was about to say that he could apologize for what he had said to the rat. Geez. She was really starting to get into his head!

"I could- y'know apolog-"

"Honda-san are you going to pack?" that damn Yuki's voice interrupted him.

"Hey! Don't you see I'm talking to her?!" Kyo yelled at him,

"You're irrelevant to me, I'm talking to Honda-san. We're leaving pretty soon, Honda-san." Kyo clenched his fists, he was so annoying! Thinking he was high and mighty just because he was the stupid cat.

"Ah..right. Sorry Sohma-kun! I-I guess I'll go..." Kyo looked at Tohru suspiciously. What was she going on about now?

"Cat, we have been summoned to the mountains to go with Akito. Tohru has been invited as well. Your instructions are to stay." And with that Yuki left upstairs to pack. So that was what Tohru looked guilty about. He was used to it really, but why did it sting him to see Tohru leave without him. Why did it bother him so much to see her next to that annoying rat? It was probably because he hated Yuki...he hated everything about him. Everything was his fault. If he didn't exist, he would be better off!

"Kyo-kun are you going to be okay? Do you want me to make food for you real quick? Akito wanted us to be up there for a while...I want to make sure you're fine..."

Kyo was staring at the floor, his anger boiling up. This was all Akito's doing was it not? He wanted to taunt Kyo and make him feel like trash! Well he surely was succeeding! That damn family!

"Kyo-kun?"

"STOP! I'll be fine! You're not my mother!" Kyo rushed past them and went to the roof as his heart beat angrily. He heard the stupid rat say something to Tohru and he swore he could have jumped off the roof and beat him to death. Why was this happening? For a minute, he had forgotten all about Mikasa until he swore he had heard her voice in distress calling out a name. He could barely make it out but it sounded like Eren.


	6. Chapter 6

||Hello~ I hope you are all enjoying the story! I've been trying to add more story instead of just throwing you into what's going on! Thanks for reading! ||

**-Chapter 6-**

Mikasa was out of control. She sped past the trees, everything around her was a blur because of her speed. The wind hit her face with force and her raven hair flew behind her, along with her scarf. Panic was growing from within her chest. It made its way, slowly creeping up to her heart and to her mind. She couldn't think of anything else other than to get back to Eren.

_Why is this happening? How is this happening?_

Mikasa landed on a tree as she buried her face in her hands shaking from her panic. Darkness over took her, she couldn't see anything. She felt like she couldn't breathe, like there was a shortage supply on air. She sat down and noticed that she was shaking. Mikasa held onto the tree tightly as she struggled to breathe.

_Am I never going to see him ever again? How can I be trapped in the future? How can I be in a place where Eren does not exist?! The reason why I am alive, doesn't exist? Eren? Eren please be safe!_

Mikasa looked up as she looked around her, half expecting Eren to be there and telling her to calm down. Everything was out of control. Her breathing pattern, her thoughts, her body was shaking, and she felt cold sweat trickling down her forehead.

She felt a ball of emotion working its way up from her stomach onto her throat. Without realizing it, Mikasa screamed Eren's name. She couldn't do anything else, for the first time in her life, Mikasa was not in charge of the situation. For the first time in life, Mikasa felt like giving up. She couldn't keep moving forward if she didn't have Eren. Tears swelled in her eyes, she looked up, hopelessly.

_Eren. What do I do Eren?_

She closed her eyes as she tightened the scar around her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Back at the house, Kyo lay on the roof feeling miserable. Why had he snapped at Tohru? Why did he make her sad? He didn't want to! For the first time ever, he cared about what someone thought and what someone felt. Before Tohru, he could have snapped and made anyone cry without giving a second thought about it. Now, if he saw her sad face…it just made his heart hurt. He wanted to take away that look but he was the one that caused it in the first place!

'Damn it!' Kyo thought as he brought his fist to the roof forcefully. And what was with Akito summoning them all suddenly?! What was his bloody deal?! Kyo knew that Akito had planned something for Kyo if he was not to be up in the mountains. How annoying were things becoming. And…the time for him to fight Yuki was coming up… Kyo felt his stomach clench into a knot. He sighed as he looked at the sky and wallowed in his own self-pity. After all, he sure as hell wasn't going to accept pity from anyone else around him…

When Mikasa's panic attack was over, she looked around. How long had she been sitting on the tree? She blinked. As she then realized something, what was she doing? Hadn't Eren told her not to give up? She had almost lost Eren twice before. He had told her that he didn't want her to give up!

"If I don't fight, then I don't stand a chance in this world! Even though it's a titan-free world, I won't give up. I will stay alive just to remember you, Eren! Because the world is a cruel place, yet it is also very...beautiful." Mikasa whispered to herself as she felt the breeze enclose around her. She stood up and fell backwards from the tree. Then she felt her 3-D maneuver gear work. She wasn't going to use this for a while, or the swords. For the moment, she would have to figure out how to get back to Eren.

As she flew back to the orange haired boy's house, her heart began to beat vividly and lively in her chest. She had one goal now, and one goal only. To get back to Eren and to Armin too. She would fight and try with all of her might to manage this!

The house was coming into view. Mikasa flew and landed gently right next to Kyo, who got up startled.

"Oy! Watch it, Mikasa! What's that thing…on your hips?" He looked at her in a weird way, which unnerved Mikasa. This boy needed to learn how to respect his superiors.

"We need to talk."

Kyo looked at her and knew that he wasn't going to get out of this conversation. Her glare kind of reminded him of that damn rat's glare.

"Ok. Let's talk then."

Kyo started to climb down and Mikasa followed quietly wondering how in the world she was going to explain everything to him. He definitely thought she was crazy, but how would she get him to actually believe her. Maybe she would show him her 3D Maneuver skills. Mikasa sighed knowing that her manner of explaining wouldn't matter because she would sound crazy nevertheless. _Here we go_. Mikasa thought as they sat down next to a table.


	7. Chapter 7

"Damn it, I'm hungry, Mikasa let me eat first-"

"Kyo, this is important. I'm sure your empty stomach can wait."

Kyo raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it because of the tone that she used in her voice.  
><em>Alright crazy, let's hear what you have to say.<em> He silently thought.

As Mikasa sat down at the table, she cleared her throat. She wasn't all that sure how to begin. Everything felt off beat, since Eren wasn't there by her side. It was almost like waking up and realizing that it was going to be an off day. Except for the fact that this feeling wasn't going to end in a day.

"Spit it out already! I'm hungry!"

Mikasa looked up at him, such a whiner, just like Eren. This guy reminded her of Eren in a couple of ways. She sighed as she began with a story that Eren told her, he had apparently gotten this story from Commander Pixis.

"Alright, be patient. I have a story to tell you.

A long time ago, this world was at peace. Suddenly, wars broke out. There were plenty of people that disagreed with each other on everything. Everyone was against everyone, there was no peace. Suddenly someone created something that would help keep humanity together. In their mind, this creation would be against all humanity. Because of this, humanity would have to stick together to help destroy these monsters.

The names of these monsters were _titans_. Titans had one and only one motive, to eat humans. They appeared out of nowhere, they started to eat all the humans, and destroyed everything in their paths. At the point of extinction, humanity created three 50 meter walls to keep titans out. The outer wall was called Wall Maria. The middle wall was called Wall Rose, and the Third Wall, the wall in which the king was, was called Wall Sina. There was peace for 100 years. For 100 years, humans never set foot outside the walls except for the military to find out more information about the titans.

Suddenly, one day, the outer wall was breached by a huge titan, a titan that had never been seen before. Titans soon came in, taking over Wall Maria. So many people died that day. Humanity had been attacked once again, people wallowed in fear.

Life back then was to either live or die.

There was a military back then, as well. They divided into three groups. The Survey Corps where soldiers risk their lives by going out and beyond the walls to find out more about Titans and their origins. They also carry out missions that are handed to them by the government. Then there is the Garrison, in which the soldiers watch the walls and make sure that safety is regulated. They are also first to help if a wall is breached. And lastly, the Military Police, they are the ones that hide in the middle wall guarding the king.

Many people were scared back then. They did not know whether the other walls were going to get breached or not. They lived in fear. The soldiers risked their lives daily, especially those in the Survey Corps, those who ventured out and beyond the walls into titan territory. That was the life that was lived back then.

That is the time period that I come from, Kyo. That is what my world is like. I am not sure what I am doing here or how I got here. I need to get back to that time frame. I must get back to the most important person to me, the person who saved me, Eren."

Mikasa's eyes watered slightly and Kyo blinked unsure of what to say. Mostly, he had no idea how to react. He believed her though, partly because of her uniform and her weird gear on her hips. But the other part was because of how she told the story; the look in her eyes told him that she was not making this up. He got the feeling that Mikasa would not lie about something like this, either.

"Tch. Fine. You are full of problems, you know that? I'll believe ya." He scratched the back of his head, he knew he was going to regret this later, but he still offered because he would feel like an ass if he didn't.

"If you'd like you can have a place to stay here. You'll have to cook your own meals though! Unless...you don't know how to use this equipment...or do you? I mean...tch. Just forget it. I'll cook the meals."

Mikasa looked at him, relief swelled over her. She nodded and smiled slightly, something that didn't really happen. Kyo was caught off guard by her smile, it made her look beautiful.

"I will make some lunch. Stay right there." He went into the kitchen, he was annoyed with himself for being too damn nice…but it was nice to be treated like a human being and not like a monster.

In the other room Mikasa sighed, it felt like something had been lifted off her shoulders. She put her head on the table and without realizing it, she was asleep.

Mikasa felt the coldness sweep over her body once again. She could never get used to this bitter coldness. Where was she? She looked up; all she saw around her was thick, dense fog. She reached out as she grasped for nothing. One word kept repeating in her head, _Eren_. She took two slow steps and noticed that she once again had her gear.

_Eren_.

Her heart beat quickly. She started to walk faster, slightly yelling out for Eren. She noticed the floor looked different where she was, it wasn't ground floor. Mikasa stopped; she saw the fog around her feet. It made a quick drop a few inches in front of her. She knelt on the floor; she was probably on a roof. She softly spoke Eren's name, and she felt weak as she stood back up.

"Right here," Eren's soft voice suddenly came behind her. She felt his touch, his hand on her shoulder; she turned around, relieve swelling inside of her.

"Eren-"

But he wasn't smiling at her. He was looking at her with anger and hate in his eyes. His hand didn't leave her shoulder, she raised her hand to take his but stopped when he clutched her shoulder with an unusual strength. She winced from the pain, what was happening? Within a matter of seconds he pushed her off the edge.

She was falling through the cold fog, he quickly disappeared from her sight.

"Oy-"

Mikasa sat up, she was covered in cold sweat.

"Y'know, we have a guest room if you need one. Don't just fall asleep on the table…oy, are you okay?"

Mikasa was shaking, she didn't take her sight off the table. Why did her dreams feel so real? Even her shoulder was aching from where Eren had grabbed her in the dream. She shook her head,

"Yeah…sorry. I had a very realistic dream…I need to get back to Eren. I feel like something's not right…"

She looked at the orange haired boy. She was once again filled with desperation.

"Maybe you should eat first…it's been a long day."

Kyo spoke softly, he was obviously not used to helping out others. Neither was Mikasa, she awkwardly nodded as he handed her a plate of rice balls,

"…here. If you don't like them then you can make your own food."

Mikasa nodded quietly as she thanked him, she looked at the food before her. What…was it? She observed it carefully. It seemed to be made out of rice. Kyo looked at her with an amused face, had she never had a rice ball before? Sure enough she looked at him,

"…What exactly is this?"

He sighed, he felt like he was talking to someone from a different world. Wait…he was. She took a bite into the rice ball and her eyes widened. It had such a subtle yet delicious taste to it. She took another bite into it; Kyo just rolled his eyes and started to eat. Being with this girl was going to be interesting, wasn't it?

"You're really good at this. Thank you so much."

"Yeah, yeah. You're starting to sound like Tohru now."

He looked down, he felt something odd inside of him. Mikasa noticed the change in his behavior, somehow she recognized it easily. But why did she recognize it…? Was it because the way he felt reminded her of Eren? She didn't know what to say to him… Kyo looked at her, why was she looking at him like that? It caught him off guard, he stood up.

"Maybe you should get some rest. The guest room is just up the stairs, the first to your right. If you need anything, I'll probably be up on the roof."

He took the dishes and went into the kitchen. Mikasa stood up and walked towards the room. Deep inside her she hoped that this was a dream. She hoped that when she fell asleep, she would wake up to Eren's presence. She closed her eyes and thought of Eren.


	8. Chapter 8

**-Chapter 8-**

Mikasa closed her eyes. The bed underneath her was extremely soft to the touch. She was not used to this softness because the beds back home were sterner. She felt as if she was going to sink into the bed beneath her. She sighed quietly as her mind raced with endless thoughts about what to do, about Eren; she hoped Armin was okay. She clutched at the soft blanket underneath her as she started to doze off. _Finally,_she thought_ some peace from my racing mind. Eren, are you doing okay? _The darkness engulfed her.

Mikasa was suddenly in a room which was not new to her. She quickly looked around trying to figure out where she was. As the answer appeared into her head, so did Commander Erwin Smith along with Hanji Zoe.

"Erwin, did you contact them?" Hanji's voice filled the room. Erwin simply nodded as he walked over to the desk which happened to be right by Mikasa.

Mikasa froze; was she dreaming? They could not see her that much was obvious. She tried to walk towards the door, but it seemed impossible. Her feet were very heavy, as well as her hands. She simply stood there, encrypting all the conversation into her head. She was not going to forget this, whether it was a dream or not. She heard footsteps coming closer. She looked at the door, patiently. What was going on? Her eyes stared at the door with such intensity. Suddenly without warning, Armin and Eren walked through the door. Her eyes widened and her heart fluttered. It was them! She was finally with them! All she had to do now was walk towards them, but that heavy sensation in her feett was not leaving. She tried to open her mouth, she was going to yell at them. Her mouth then became stuck together, as if it was shut with glue. She looked at them, disbelief in her eyes. All she could do is watch?! Just watch as the most important people stood in front of her?! She shook violently, yelling at them from the inside of her head. It was no use, they could not hear her.

"Hello, I understand you both are going through a hard time right now."

Mikasa stopped her yelling and quickly looked over at Erwin Smith, who was the one that had just spoken. Her heart stopped when Eren opened his mouth to speak,

"How the hell can you be so calm about this?! Mikasa- she may still be alive!" Eren spoke loudly and angrily. Armin grabbed him to make sure that he didn't stand up from his seat. They both looked horrified, devastated and depressed. It broke her heart apart just to watch them go through this.

"Eren…Eren believes that Mikasa is somehow still alive-"

"What?! _I know_ she's still alive!"

If Mikasa could, she would have cried. But she felt at peace because she was _still_ alive…just…in a different time. Everything started to get hazy and the room started to get darker and darker. _Eren…Armin, please wait for me. I promise I will make it back to you. Please stay safe._

Mikasa then became engulfed in sunshine. She opened her eyes slowly; they burned as she focused on the room around her. She felt her eyelids heavy and wet; she had been crying.

Without a warning, Mikasa's memory burned with the dream that she had. She stood up and looked around the room.

"...a notebook. I must write these dreams down. I need all the information that I can get." Mikasa quickly walked over to the corner of the room. A small drawer had grabbed her attention.

Quickly, she opened the first one. To her dismay, she found a stack of papers with the the phrase: _Shigure's Novels. _Mikasa slammed it shut, she quickly opened the second one. She found a notebook and a couple of pens and pencils, without hesitation she took the notebook along with a pen.

_Day One_ she began to write,

_I have found a way into a different world. A world in which Eren does not exist. I have met a strange boy by the name of Sohma, Kyo. He has orange hair, it almost seems fake. He has been kind enough to let me stay at his house for the moment. I have decided to start writing about my dreams that I have with Eren and my time period; my dreams reveal things from that world...from my world. Today I had a dream where I was located in Commander Smith's office. He was trying to console Eren and Armin over the accident..._

Mikasa kept writing with power in her hand. Something deep inside of her began to twist and turn. She was not going to give up. As long as she was breathing, she was going to try and find a way back to Eren and Armin. _Fight Mikasa!_ Eren had told her that a long time ago and that is what she was intending to do. If she did not fight, then she would not stand a chance.

As Mikasa finished writing her details about what was going on, she took her pen to the very top of the page. In clear, neat handwriting, she wrote: The world is a cruel place but it is also very beautiful.

Mikasa found out that whenever she would sleep, she would get glimpses of Eren's world. Even when she took a nap, she would get glimpses. She also found out that she would _still_ space out and get glimpses of the Annie situation. Luckily she was spending a lot of time in the spare room that Kyo said that she could stay at.

Mikasa would randomly fall asleep, especially since she would wake up early in the morning to train. She didn't want her body to get weak in this world. What if she were to go back and she wasn't strong enough to defend Eren and Armin? The second dream of her world was when she was taking a nap after training in the morning. Mikasa was placed in a half lit room. She could somehow feel the cold, crisp air that was clinging onto the room. She looked around; at first, everything was hazy. As she blinked, the room got into focus. Her heart skipped a beat, Eren was sitting in a chair next to Armin. She knew that she could not move; all she could do was to sit and watch from the corner of the room. Her heart was heavy with pain, she was not used to being so useless.

"…_useless._ That's what I am, Armin!" Eren's soft, angry voice broke Mikasa's thoughts. Eren slammed the table with his fist.  
>"Eren, calm down. There is nothing that <em>we <em>can do at this point! All we have to do is listen to what Erwin tells us to do. I know how you feel Eren. Please keep that in mind…I know that I am not the strongest and that I was not able to save a lot of our comrades. So please know that I understand how you feel."

Eren's gaze softened. He looked over at Armin and sighed,

"Yeah, well. You have the brains, Armin. I think that is more than enough."

Mikasa looked over both of them softly, she loved them very much. She sighed, blowing out some air in the room. She called out to them, feeling useless.  
>"…Eren…Armin…" She then began to feel the room become hazy once again.<p>

Back in the room, Eren and Armin looked at where Mikasa had been. Armin's soft voice spoke out,

"Eren…did you hear that?"  
>"Yes. Someone called my name…"<p>

That was the last thing Mikasa heard before she woke up.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the notebook that was right next to her bed. The sun was barely coming out; looking at the placement of the sun, she figured it was about half past six. She began to write down what she had dreamed, all in full detail.

Mikasa checked the time; it was 7 a.m by the time she had finished writing down her thoughts and what she had seen in her dream. She stood up and hung her scarf around neck. She began to think deeply and evaluate the information from her dreams. She was like a ghost, but she could feel the temperature and feel her heart beat. She couldn't move but she had managed to get Eren and Armin's attention before she woke up today. What did it mean? There must be a way that she could simply solidify herself to stay where they were. She wondered if she could take her scarf off-no. It would have to be something else, maybe a string? She made a mental note to try that out next time she had her dream.

"Oy. What are you doing up early?" Mikasa sat up and looked over at the door where Kyo was standing by.

"I got up early and did some training. As much as I can, at least, with what's available."

The boy's eyes lightened,  
>"You mean you run every morning too?"<p>

Mikasa nodded quietly,  
>"How am I to protect Eren if I am not prepared? If you fight, you win. If you don't, you lose. It's simple." Mikasa stood up and went inside. If it wasn't for Eren, she wouldn't have known that statement. He was her everything. She locked herself in the room and emerged herself with hypothesis and ideas of how to get back to him.<p>

Meanwhile, Kyo began to run, thinking about what she had told him. He guessed, from the way she had explained the world that she had come from, that it made sense for her to talk like that. Something made him dwell on that statement; it could be that he was used to being the only one to think along those lines. Could it be that someone understood how serious he was when it came to fighting? He sighed and cleared out his head, right now it was _his _time to exercise.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello everyone! This chapter was definitely fun to write! Ayame Sohma is such a fun character, I was eager to see how Mikasa might react to him! I hope you enjoy this chapter! ||

**-Chapter 9-**

Time was passing by at a normal pace for Kyo Sohma. It had been a week and a half since that random girl had appeared out of nowhere. He still thought she was a bit crazy and he was having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that she was from another…world, dimension? Well, whatever the hell it was, it did not really matter to him. He barely saw the girl. She would wake up so early in the morning; he once caught her doing a lot of arduous workouts. He was surprised and wondered how long she had been doing this for. After her morning workout session, she would shut herself in the room and then come out about an hour later to make some breakfast. She would then go back into the room and then stay in the room until 6 pm. She would disappear for a long time; she would come back looking sweaty three hours later. Part of him wanted to follow her and see what she was doing. He sighed and thought better of the stupid idea since he already felt awkward by what had happened at the end of Mikasa's first week at the Sohmas. Kyo was making dinner when she randomly snuck up on him,

"What the hell?! Don't sneak up to me-" He stopped as he saw her expression. _Oh no,_ he thought to himself. He had seen that expression before with Tohru when she was embarrassed about something. Mikasa cleared her throat and she blushed as she began to talk,

"I need…clothing and such. I'm grateful that I have a place and a washroom…I just don't have the undergarment and-"

"OKAY. I got it." Kyo rapidly spoke as he kept looking at the floor, his face redder than ever. He sighed, what should he do?! He was _not_ going to go shopping with her for that sort of thing. Suddenly, almost as if fate was working its powers, the front door was opened. Along with a fresh smell of lavender mixed with rose came a loud voice,

"KYONKINCHI~"  
>Kyo froze and thought about jumping out the kitchen window. He then sighed loudly to show his frustration but did not get the chance to speak due to being shocked. Mikasa had quickly grabbed a knife which was now against the male's neck. The male with long, silky white hair was pinned against the wall; he laughed loudly,<p>

"Ohoho~ we have quite a sadistic, gorgeous girl here don't we Kyonkichi?"

"OY! Let him go! It's okay, he's okay! How the hell did you even get that knife so quickly?!"

"Training. I saw your expression and thought he was dangerous." Mikasa put the knife down and backed off. Still, she studied him; she did not know who she could trust in this world.

"Is this your -new- girlfriend Kyo-"

"Shut up, Ayame! Why are you not in the mountains?!"

Ayame put a hand up to his forehead in a dramatic manner and put on a pained expression,

"Oh! It was quite horrid! I think they must have forgotten about me~! How could they do that to such perfect person as I?! Ahaha~ just kidding! I had to tend to my beloved store! I have customers who need me! Oh! But dear, where are my manners?!" Ayame walked over to Mikasa who was now looking at him with a blank expression; he grabbed her hand and kissed it before going on with his sentence,  
>"My name is Ayame Sohma. It is a pleasure to meet you! You have such a marvelous body, if I may add! Come by my store and we can fix a lovely outfit for you~"<p>

"Mikasa Ackerman, sir, nice to meet you. I am in a desperate need for extra clothing-"

"She does not need YOUR clothing! Ayame, just get the hell outta here will ya?!"

Ayame's eyes sparkled; too late, he had found an interest. Kyo called out to Ayame before he got the wrong idea,

"Ayame, this girl was lost. She needs a place to stay for a while. She has no clothing other than what she is currently wearing. That is what she means when she said that she needs clothes."

"Well, well~" Ayame walked over to Mikasa as he studied her body, "You are just in luck my dear!" He pulled out a measuring tape out of nowhere and began to measure her body without being afraid to touch it. After a couple of flinches, threatening looks, and lots of blushing (all coming from Mikasa) Ayame walked out of the room as he called his store helper.

Mikasa looked at the floor, not knowing what to say. Kyo cleared his throat, ending the awkward silence,

"Sorry. He is really…outgoing and annoying-"

"There's no need to apologize. There's someone like that back at home too. Except she's a woman…her name is Hanji." Mikasa sighed and looked at the time. With an exasperated look on her face she looked at Kyo,

"I need to tend to something. Thank Ayame for me and if he needs anything I would be more than willing to help him out." She then quickly ran out of the kitchen.

Kyo, still blushing and hating Ayame more and more, sat down at the table. An hour or so passed and Ayame showed up. He had ten bags with him. The bags were all very sophisticated and lacy looking.

"Here~ a gift for our Mikasa! As a welcome to the Sohma's new household! And congratulations to -you- Kyonkichi!"

"Stop calling me that! And she is just a friend! Don't get any nasty ideas you pervert! Oh...and she, uh, said thank you."

"Tell her that with that gorgeous body of hers, she can repay-"

"Shut up and just get outta here!" Kyo pushed Ayame out and locked the door. That man gave him a headache and caused him to be in a bad mood. He took the ten bags and went up to the room. Knocking lightly, he waited without getting a response.

"Mikasa? You in there?" He called out to her but still got no response. Kyo opened the door and noticed that she had fallen asleep. A notebook in her hand and a pencil in the other she rested with a peaceful look on the desk. Kyo put down the bags by the door and walked over to her. Her rested face looked beautiful without the strain that she usually wore. He studied her face and wondered if he looked this peaceful when he slept. He knew for a fact that he always had an expression that made him look angry.

"May I help you?"

Kyo jumped back, surprised. He awkwardly cleared his throat and explained quickly that Ayame had brought her the clothing and rushed out the room without looking back.

Mikasa, slightly amused by his reaction, began to furiously write down in her notebook. She was getting to see him more often, and that made her extremely happy. She looked at the clock that was by the bed and saw that it was already night time. She sighed peacefully knowing that she was going to sleep soon. That meant that she would hopefully see Eren again.


	10. Chapter 10

**-Chapter 10-**

While Mikasa was lost in her journaling, Kyo was lost in his thoughts. It had been about a week and a half since Mikasa had been staying with him. Ever since Ayame brought her the clothing, she became very distant. He rarely saw her, only from a distance once, three days ago. Kyo could care less, in all honesty, because currently he was worrying about something much more important…

"_If you can beat Yuki, then you can escape your fate of being locked in that room for the rest of your life, cat."_

Akito's cold words slurred in his head as he stood up from his bed. Damn it! How the hell was he supposed to do such thing?! Frustration filled him as he found his way down the stairs. He had learned to fight at a younger age than that damn rat and yet he was still better than him. He tried to push those thoughts out of his head as he opened the refrigerator and drank out of the milk chug. He sighed and become lost in thought.

Suddenly, he heard a loud thud noise upstairs coming from the guest room. Kyo quickly made his way up to the room. He knocked and waited a couple of minutes without getting an answer. He opened the door slightly and called out with a worried voice,

"Oy, Mikasa? You in there?"

The room was neat and in order. He then saw that from the closet, her odd gear had fallen from the top shelf. She was not to be found so he put it up where it once was.

'_How the hell do they carry that around?' _Kyo thought to himself.

He noticed a notebook in the desk. Kyo recognized it as the notebook that she had fallen asleep on when Ayame had brought her the clothing. It was open; he began to read the page,

_My hypothesis is that it is impossible for me to travel back to them. Time is always moving. The Earth is always orbiting. Even so the past has happened, it is set in stone. -But- for me to travel in the future is possible because the future is not set in stone. I won't accept it! There must be a way for me to travel back to Eren!_

Kyo, feeling intrigued, flipped back a couple of pages and he began to read.

_Day 4,_

_Eren was commenting to Armin that he was having headaches lately. Armin asked him to be more specific and Eren answered truthfully. He said that he wasn't able to sleep very well ever since I had disappeared. He…still believes I'm alive. He would randomly wake up feeling sore as well; for example today his arms were really sore. Armin looked concerned and asked him to go to Hanji, Eren refused and answered that all he wanted was for me to come back._

_I realized that at the very end, when I am leaving, I am still able to call out to them. My hypothesis is that as the portal (or whatever it is that carries me) opens up, the sound is flexed allowing my voice to find its way to them. By now, Armin is starting to come up with something, I'm sure. He is very intelligent, I trust him._

_Day 5,_

_I saw Eren by the frozen Annie. It unnerves me to even think that he is by that monster and I am not there to protect him! The things she did…I am rather irritated just by thinking about it! Eren and Armin are still looking really dead. They have no emotion in their eyes…I'm worried for them. Guys, please hold on! _

_Day 6,_

_I did not dream with them. I haven't dreamed with them yet. It has been two days and I am losing my mind. I don't know what to do._

_Day 8,_

_I finally dreamed with them. I noticed that the dream was short and rather hazy. I finally managed to get enough strength to test out my hypothesis. I went to bed holding a piece of paper that said, "Eren, Armin I'm alive. I'm trapped in a different world. Please…wait for me. Eren, keep fighting to survive!" I managed to drop it into the floor! I woke up and the piece of paper wasn't there anymore! Success! _

_Day 9,_

_I took a nap and I dreamed again with them. It was a short dream. It was very unsettling; I found out that another wall has been breached! I just see Eren and Armin panicking. PLEASE BE SAFE! I yelled and they managed to hear me somehow._

_Day 11,_

_I haven't had a dream. Nothing makes sense. This is all I think about, this is my life, and it's what I live for. What am I to live for if I can't dream about them? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED-_

"What. Are. You. Doing."

Kyo turned around and almost did not recognize the girl that was in front of him. Mikasa had dark lines underneath her eyes and her hair was very messy. She was pale and looked very fragile. Quickly, she threw a punch at him which he luckily dodged.

"Oy! What the hell is your problem?! Calm down, Mikasa!"

"Shut your mouth idiot. You don't know half the hell I've been through; all I want is to get back to Eren. And now…now the WALL WAS BREACHED. ARE THEY SAFE?!" Mikasa looked at the floor as she screamed. It was almost as if she had forgotten that Kyo was there. She then looked back at him, Kyo swore that if looks could kill he would be dead at the moment.

"Don't you dare touch my notebook ever AGAIN." Mikasa grabbed him by the collar and pushed him out the door. Kyo stood up as he felt a sharp pain go through his body. He angrily went up to the roof, what was her problem?! He then thought about the pages he read. He had skipped quite a few pages; maybe she was going through hell at the moment. Not that he cared; he needed to worry about beating that damn rat at the moment. He had no energy to care about that crazy lunatic and her problems.


	11. Chapter 11

**-Chapter 11-**

Mikasa was lying on her bed. Tears were slightly streaming down her face; her heart ached with a strange pain. Mikasa had shut herself in the room after throwing Kyo out 4 days ago. She hadn't left her room ever since, not even to train. Those four days melted together and her depression closed in on her. She had been away from Eren for two weeks now but truly it seemed like it was an eternity. She sighed as she closed her eyes and was engulfed by his memory. She remembered that soft smile that he wore so well but she also remembered how feisty those soft lips could be. She remembered his tender look that also wore hatred for titans; his soft voice that would constantly reprimand Jean. Mikasa cried and didn't leave the room for what seemed an eternity.

* * *

><p>"<em>I wonder if you would get lonely without seeing your ugly girl for a month. We are having such a lovely time here. Oh but unfortunately I got sick, you see, so I couldn't make it to the mountains for the two weeks. 'No matter,' I thought to myself, 'after all, the party starts when I get there!' Haha! So I am writing this from the mountains.<em>

_But you know what? I am being very thoughtful towards you, cat. I am preparing you for the rest of your life! Loneliness is something you should have embraced by now! I told the Sohmas to spend two more weeks with me up at the mountains. Oh I hope you don't mind! I just love having everyone with me! Tohru seems to be getting along rather well with Yuki, you know. They spend every second they can together. You know what I think it is? Oh let me think…ah! Love. Yes, they are in love! But you've never felt it or heard of it, have you cat? Well no matter! I won't allow that stupid girl to ruin our happiness! I can just imagine her stupid expression when I separate Yuki from her after being so close with him. _

_Oh and just a quick question, Kyo. Do you think you can beat Yuki in two months? I mean, you started to fight before him and he still outranks you! Just give up and accept the fact of your future~!_

_Have fun thinking about how you're going to spend the rest of your miserable life._

_-Akito"_

Mikasa held the crumped letter in her hand. She had found it in the middle of the kitchen floor. She looked around and realized that she had not left that room for a long time. An odd feeling went through her stomach, was it guilt? She sighed as she put the letter on the counter. She realized that there was nothing she could do. She had done it all. All she could do was to give up. She saw a butterfly outside the window that was lightly fluttering from flower to flower. It was so free and careless.

She had to live on for him. Wasn't his dream to see the outside world?

…she was in the outside world.

Something inside of Mikasa clicked and turned.

"So. You're alive after all."

Mikasa looked down and took a deep breath. She turned to look at Kyo and slightly bowed,

"I apologize for my way of acting. You were gracious enough to let me borrow a room and I completely shut myself away."

"Oh, uh its fine. You don't have to bow!"

Mikasa lightly nodded and she looked at him with a sincere look in her eye,

"Can we start all over again?"

"S-sure. There's no need to…I understand you were going through a tough time. Sorry I couldn't be much of a help. What is that letter doing on the counter?"

Mikasa looked at him quietly, with a look Kyo figured out that she had read it. Mikasa was not sure whether he was upset or not.

"Kyo, who's Yuki? And Akito? …If I may ask?"

Kyo looked at her,

"I guess you can say that they're my family. It's a long story, really. And it's really annoying."

"Well, I'm not leaving any time soon. And…well you're not alone either. I can support you with whatever it is that you need." Mikasa felt as if he was a fellow soldier, she felt like it was her duty to be there for him. Kyo's eyes widened,

"Tch. You're crazy. No one wants to ever be with me, I'm going upstairs."

"Just because you're too scared to see it and accept it doesn't mean that it is not true." Mikasa called out to him.

"What do you know?" Kyo quietly said and went up the stairs.

Mikasa slightly shrugged; he definitely reminded her of Eren…but Kyo was his own person. Something inside of her wanted to get to know this strange person.

She began to make some soup; something fast and useful that she had learned during the soldier's camp. Mikasa brought the plates upstairs and after seeing that he wasn't in his room, she tried the roof.

"There you are." She easily went up without using her hands. A very surprised Kyo stood with his mouth hanging open,

"Oy! If you need help just say so!" He took a bowl from her and with an awkward 'thank you' he sat down.

"I didn't need help."

"…you might be good at physical labor…but your cooking sucks."

Mikasa went to sit next to him,

"We eat to survive, do we not? As long as you make it through the end of the day-"

"There can be another adventure the next day!" Kyo finished looking excited.

Mikasa nodded quietly,

"Just be safe."

"I can take care of-"

"Yes, I am aware you can take care of yourself. You remind me a lot of someone back at home." Mikasa felt a small stab in her heart.

An awkward silence filled the air; it was something Mikasa was used to though. Especially when she was with Jean and Eren.

"So, fill me in. I know nothing of this world and of your family."

"Yeah, well you chose the wrong family 'cause we're anything but normal in this world."

"Try me." Mikasa pressed on, her gaze melting onto his.

"Tch, fine. I guess it's a bit more…normal than huge titans eating everyone. So…well it all begins with a story. God was going to throw a party so he told the damn rat…"

And with that small story, Mikasa was introduced to a whole different world.


	12. Chapter 12

**-Chapter 12-**

Mikasa felt the soft breeze hugging and cling onto her skin. She closed her eyes as Kyo's voice told her the story which went something like this:

"A very long time ago, God told the damn rat: 'I am inviting you all to my banquet. You must not be late!' After hearing the news, the obnoxious rat, who likes practical jokes told its neighbor, the cat, that the banquet was the day after tomorrow. Later that day, the rat rode on the ox, and jumped off into get to the banquet first. The ox followed and then the tiger and everyone else. The celebration with everyone lasted until the next morning except for the deceived cat..."

Mikasa looked over at Kyo as she remembered the letter that she had read, "I am being very thoughtful towards you, cat."

"So, basically, this story can describe where we stand in our family. Akito is the…" he paused for some odd reason but then continued, "Akito is the head of the family. Then we've got the rest of the family and we each represent the roles of this story."

Mikasa looked at him, what a peculiar story and what an interesting way to show the roles in a family. Somehow she got the feeling that he was specifically not telling her something; she didn't mind, she respected his privacy. Her mind quickly began to make connections between the story and the letter that she had read.

"From the way that the letter sounded, Yuki must have the role of the rat and you obviously have the role of the cat. Apparently you have to beat him in a fight, right?" Mikasa looked at him softly as she tried to understand the feeling behind his eyes.

"Yeah, well, I should just face reality." Kyo's voice sounded flat and emotionless. Mikasa looked up at the wind as she closed her eyes and remembered her past,

"If I had faced reality, then I wouldn't be alive today. If I would have let Eren die and if I had accepted the way things were going then I wouldn't exist at the moment. Kyo, if you don't fight then you don't stand a chance. You want to survive? Then fight."

She felt a fire in her eyes; it was as if it was Eren speaking through her.

Kyo looked at her as he felt his eyes widen. He realized that he was incorrect but he didn't feel upset over that fact. Instead something else filled his heart. What was this feeling? It was rather new to him; he couldn't find the word for this feeling. He focused on this growing feeling as he tried to find a word to describe. His thoughts were interrupted as Mikasa stood up and offered a hand to him,

"So, what do you say? Will you fight or give up?" She looked down at him; he caught the fire that was burning in her eyes. He sighed as he took her hand,

"Fine. I'll fight." He was about to take his hand away from hers but suddenly, with an amazing force, she pulled him up.

"You mean we'll fight. Your battle is now mine." She nodded towards him softly as she looked at the sky and continued,

"Tomorrow we will begin your training. I'll teach you everything I know from the Survey Corps. Be ready at 5 a.m. tomorrow. We'll start fighting to achieve our goal."

"Right. I'll be up by that time. Oh…and Mikasa?" It felt odd calling her by her first name,

"Yes, Kyo?"

"Um…thanks." He felt himself go a bit red, he was not used to saying thank you and was definitely not used to being called by his first name.

"Of course. You're not alone in this anymore." And with that she went back inside.

* * *

><p>Later that night, as Kyo lay in his bed, the conversation echoed in his head.<p>

"_You mean we'll fight. Your battle is now mine."_

He turned and as his face looked at the ceiling. His heart felt lively and he felt excited. He knew this feeling very well; it was exactly how he felt whenever his sensei would take him away to the mountains to train. Maybe he should take Mikasa to the mountains! They would have early mornings and train the whole day! It would be like survival mode! He looked around and noticed that he was sitting up; he tried to relax as he lay back down, maybe he was just too excited. He sighed and closed his eyes,

"_You mean we'll fight. Your battle is now mine."_

He shook his head; why was that circling in his head? Well, most importantly why was Mikasa saying that this battle was now hers? Plus what really stood out to him was the tone in her voice. He didn't sense her doing this because she felt bad for him just like everyone else. She was so sincere about wanting to help him; she treated him as a companion…as a friend. The feeling that he couldn't find a word for came back twice as strong. What was that word? He went through a list of words but none of them fit.

Time passed and his heartbeat slowed down; his breath got slower and deeper. His mind became quiet and drowsy. As he was falling asleep, the word that he was trying to figure out earlier came into his mind: _Hope. _This was something that he had never felt before. Mikasa filled him with _hope_. A small, light smile took over his face as everything around him blacked out.


	13. Chapter 13

**-Chapter 13-**

"Stand up straight."

Mikasa's soft but forceful voice spoke out to Kyo. He stood up straight; Mikasa walked over to him as she stood straight in front of him. She studied his position, it was pretty good. She kept on talking,

"I want to see your skill. I want to know what I need to teach you and what you can do to improve. Fight me."

Mikasa put her arms out in a defensive manner as Kyo tilted his head,

"Oy, I don't fight girls. I don't wanna hurt you."

Mikasa threw a kick in the air; a very surprised Kyo just barely dodged her kick. Mikasa made mental notes on his quickness,

"HEY, What the hell?! I said I can't fight girls-"

Mikasa threw a punch as Kyo dodged it; without wasting time, she threw an uppercut with her left hand. A forceful kick followed her punch sending Kyo up in the air. Mikasa stood in her position,

"If you're not willing to risk everything for your cause, then you might as well admit defeat."

Kyo groaned as he sat up,

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? Damn it!" He stood up quietly; he was angry with himself.

Mikasa thought of a way to make him cooperate. If this guy was just like Eren…then maybe she should try provoking him,

"If you want Tohru to feel protected and secure when she's around you and not Yuki; you have to fight-"

"Shut up." Kyo glared, he was not in a good mood at the moment.

Mikasa noticed his anger and continued,

"From the look of things, it seems that Yuki has no problem with defending her if it came to it. How long has he been fighting for? I believe you started before him, didn't-"

Kyo came at her with a punch that she quickly and easily dismissed; Mikasa threw a kick in the air. Kyo leaned back; he then threw a kick. Mikasa grabbed his leg with her right hand and pulled him in as she kneed him in the chest. Kyo fell as he gasped in pain; Mikasa stood waiting for him to get up. Without a word he stood up and they kept on fighting.

After an hour or so, Mikasa walked over to Kyo, who was lying on the floor groaning. She looked at him gently and began to talk as if nothing had happened,

"You're not bad Kyo, I can help you get better. I've made some mental notes on what needs to improve." Mikasa sat down next to him on the grass.

"Tch, you crazy woman. What the hell do they teach you back at home?!" Kyo sighed as he looked up at the sky. He was used to only losing against the rat, not against a girl. But as he looked at her, somehow, it seemed as if she wasn't just some girl. In a way, he felt honored that he got to fight her; she was quick and very precise with her moves. The way she moved and fought was so smooth. She made it seem like it was as easy as breathing; Kyo admired her because of that.

Mikasa looked up as she became engulfed in the memories of her training days,

"They teach us how to survive in our dark world. In other words, I know how to kill someone fast and easy. Although our main enemy is the titans, there are still some who will betray us. Those are the people that I would never hesitate to use my skill on." Mikasa's words sounded like they were filled with poison. Kyo blinked,

"Is there someone that's betrayed you before?"

Mikasa looked at him,

"Yes. I almost lost Eren because of her. But I captured her; the Survey Corps have her in custody now." Mikasa looked down before continuing, "there are many more like her; they want Eren for some reason. I cannot protect Eren at all because I am here."

She felt like her heart was going to explode. She couldn't stand the thought of Eren getting hurt. She couldn't stand to think that he might get captured and that something could happen to him. Kyo's voice interrupted her thoughts,

"Do you think Eren would want you to be worried like this?"

Mikasa looked at Kyo as her eyes widened.

"You don't understand. If something were to happen to him, I don't know what I would do. I can't live without him. _I cannot-_"

"But you already are! Didn't you come from the past? Technically, he's already gone. You've been living without him for a while now."

Something trembled inside of her. She wanted to give up; she wanted Eren by her side.

"_You have to fight to survive!" _Eren's voice flowed through her head._  
><em>But how…how can she survive in a different world? How can she apply her style of living to a world that isn't kill or be killed?

"I don't get it. It sounds to me like you're scared or something."

Mikasa felt something inside of her turn. She glared at him as she felt her fist tighten; she was not scared…She looked down as she thought about the feeling that had been haunting her for a while. Was the feeling fear? Fear that something might happen to Eren?  
>Maybe it was fear of letting Eren-<p>

"Ya know, it sounds like maybe you're afraid to move on. Like you can't accept things and let them go." Kyo spoke up.

_That was it._

That was what she was afraid of…she was afraid to lose her home. He was her only family that she had and now he was gone. She was alone again. She looked at Kyo but couldn't say anything. She had no words for him. She had nothing to tell him to let him know that he was incorrect…because he was right about what he was talking about.

"I'm alone again…I've lost my home once more." Her soft voice spoke out to Kyo whose eyes widened. He sure as hell knew what that felt like.

"I understand what it's like to be alone. Hell, I even know what it's like to not be wanted and be despised by everyone. But yet I'm still here aren't I?"

Mikasa looked at him with sadness in her eyes,

"Oy…you're not alone and homeless. I'm here and you're staying here too, aren't ya? So don't go on saying nonsense like that."

Mikasa felt like something opened inside of her; it was an overwhelming feeling.

"Hey! You don't have to cry!"

Mikasa touched her cheek and realized that she was crying, but she couldn't stop. She just kept crying; crying for Eren, Armin, for not being there with them. She kept crying because relief swelled over her because she wasn't alone in this new world with different rules.

Kyo sat next to her feeling utterly shocked. He didn't like it when girls cried; he didn't know what to do about it. He sighed as he awkwardly reached out to Mikasa and awkwardly patter her on the back.

She didn't move away like she normally would from a person's touch; this was the person who had saved her, once again, from her solitude just like when she was young.

Time passed with both of them sitting down being silent. Mikasa felt at peace for the moment; she wanted to enjoy this feeling as much as she possibly could. Suddenly her stomach made a loud, rumbling noise. She looked down feeling a bit embarrassed as she awkwardly cleared her throat

Kyo stood up,  
>"Alright, I guess this calls for lunch then. Oh and I'll cook. Your cooking sucks."<p>

Mikasa nodded eagerly as she also stood up. Kyo looked at her,

"Uh, are you feeling better now?"

Mikasa could feel the awkwardness through his voice; it made her smile a bit.

"Yes, I am grateful. Thank you."

"Good. Cause I don't like it when girls cry. So…yeah." He began to walk away heading towards his house.

Mikasa hoped that maybe one day she would be able to call it her home as well. It was going to be tough but, just like Kyo said, she wasn't alone anymore.

As Kyo walked inside towards the kitchen, something inside of him stirred. He ignored the feeling that had been there for a while; he just didn't want to deal with any more than what he already had to deal with. Quite frankly, normally he would be annoyed at something like this but today he was calm about it. It was a strange, yearning feeling. Had he felt this before?

"Kyo?"

Mikasa's soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts,

"What?"

"You look very confused. Is there something that I can help you with?" Mikasa's forceful eyes focused on his orange ones.

"Uh no, it's fine. I was just thinking. Anyway, what do you want for lunch?"

"Thinking about what? I apologize for any rash action that I might have done."

"No, it's not that! I was just trying to understand a feeling that's stirring in my chest. But currently I already have too much on my plate; I don't want any more to think about."

Mikasa looked confused,

"I don't see any plates here. Maybe you're getting sick?"

Kyo sighed,

"You take everything literally don't you? And no, I'm not getting sick! I just feel like…well I'm not sure how to explain it. Every time you talk about Eren or where you come from I want to know more. I want to know about titans and what did you do during your free time. Did you have any parents?"

Mikasa tilted her head, she was about to answer when he interrupted her,

"Not that I care! I don't! I just want to know. Because…it's frustrating to see you cry and be upset and shit. I don't know what to do because I don't know a damn thing about you!"

He looked at her but his annoyance evaporated as soon as he saw her expression. Mikasa was looking at him with a soft expression; even though this morning she clearly showed him just how strong she was, right at this moment she seemed like she was so fragile. It was almost like with a simple breeze, she could break.

Mikasa could feel her heart softly beat; Kyo reminded her of Eren and because of that she felt warm on the inside. Eren was always with her; his memory was always around her.

"So yeah. Um…tch. I just don't know what to say right now okay? I've never helped anyone before. I always cause trouble and hurt those around me!" He scratched his head and looked up at the ceiling. Mikasa spoke up,

"Kyo, I don't know what you've been through. I'm sure you've been through your own kind of hell and I'm sure you've been through it alone. But…" Mikasa stopped and turned to look at him. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. Kyo looked back at her and wondered what she was thinking. He always wondered what she was thinking…he wanted to know more about her and her past.

"Kyo I want-"

"Mikasa." Kyo's voice interrupted her. She stopped, had she crossed a line that she wasn't supposed to? Mikasa looked at him,

"Yes?"

Kyo suddenly looked down. He decided not to tell her but something made him blurt it out,

"Mikasa, I want to know more about you! What is bothering you? What happened to you in the other world? Why do you sometimes look so lonely and sad? Who is Eren? What was he like? I want to be your friend and companion. I want to help you out just like Tohru helps me!"

Oh no. What the hell had he just said? Kyo didn't take his eyes off of the floor, well, it was more like he couldn't. He had just made a friend who actually saw him as a human and not as a thing for that moment. There was always the chance that she would say something if she found out about his true nature…but he somehow felt as if she would just dismiss it because she was different than the rest. But now he had to go and ruin everything. He still had time though! He should just say he was tired from training.

"Kyo…that's very nice. I feel so out of place here, I won't lie. I feel lonely without Eren by my side but yet there's times where you make it all go away. I must admit that I do not know how you manage to do that, but I am happy I met you. I was going to say that I wanted to get to know you more as well. There are so many questions that are burning inside of me but it just seemed too rude for me to ask bluntly."

Kyo's eyes widened, seriously this girl…she was so cold and distant sometimes but truly she was amazing. It was like she chose who got to see this side of her. He looked at her,

"Ah yeah…well…I felt the same way. You can ask me anything! You don't have to worry about silly things like that, geez!"

Mikasa sighed sadly. Did it mean that she should ask him all her questions now? Or did they have to wait a couple of days…? She was not good at this.

"Sorry, Kyo. I'm not good at this…back at home I only was around Eren and Armin. I'm afraid I've never spent much time on trying to make friends."

Kyo felt a relief swell over him; he wasn't the only one that was awkward about this. Even though this fact should have made him feel like things were going to be horrible between them for a while, it actually made him feel at ease and amused by this situation.

"Maybe we should talk about it as we eat?" Kyo suddenly remembered that Mikasa had never seen the world. From what she had explained, she had never left the walls to see the world! Maybe he should take her out to eat and they can ask away as they eat! Kyo looked at her,

"I can take you out-"

"Well, well, well~! I think this sounds like its leading to a date, if you ask me! Oh my! Did I interrupt you Kyonkichi? Well, by all means! Go on, go on!" Ayame's voice filled the room randomly and instantly. Mikasa and Kyo quickly looked at him, Kyo spoke instantly,

"What the hell are you doing here!? And don't call me that! Get out of here you stalker!"

Ayame dramatically put a hand up to his forehead,

"My own cousin hates me? You see how I'm treated Miss Mikasa? Oh but no matter, no matter~! Kyo please continue with what you were going to say!" Ayame winked at the orange haired boy as he leaned against the wall in the kitchen.

"I wasn't saying anything! I don't know what the hell you're talking about you stalker!"

"Oh~ don't you want to know what he was going to say, Mikasa?" Ayame got closer to her as he began to wrap his arm around her shoulder. Kyo pulled Mikasa away from Ayame without thinking about it,

"Get away from her, pervert!"

"My my Kyo~ you're just as protective of Mikasa as with Tohru! Hahaha, you must be amazing Mikasa~!"

Ayame looked at her as he crossed his arms. Mikasa looked at Ayame,

"Hello, Ayame-san. It's lovely to see you." She turned around and faced Kyo,

"Kyo, what were you going to say?"

Kyo glared at Ayame, he did not want to ask her out to dinner with that pervert around! One look at Mikasa and he decided to just tell her. He was sure she would like to see the city and outside world, it was one of her dreams anyway wasn't it?

"Shit. Well…Mikasa, I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner. Maybe I could show you around town since you've never seen it before either…but only because you've never been there before! Otherwise I wouldn't even bother! Got it!?"

Mikasa's face lit up but Ayame spoke first,

"Tsk tsk tsk. Kyo~ that was horrible and un-romantic. Mikasa darling, _I _can show you a good time around town. I'll even have an outfit for you to wear~"

"Ayame I swear to Akito that if you don't shut the hell up, I'll _make _you shut up!" He held up a fist. Mikasa noticed his fist and she quickly got into her fighting position.

"Kyo do I need to take him down?" Mikasa's voice lost all excitement and was replaced with a sour tone. Kyo quickly put his hands on her arms to lower them down,

"Damn it Mikasa, you _do_ take everything seriously. Ayame bothers the living hell outta me and he needs to keep his words to himself. My 1% patience span goes out the door as soon as I see him."

"In other words, my dearest Mikasa, he _hates his own cousin!_ Isn't it dreadful?!" Ayame covered his face and pretended to cry. Mikasa, not knowing what to do, looked at Kyo,

"I don't think you should hate your own family Kyo."

"Don't listen to him! He's just being an idiot!"

"I love you too Kyo~ Now where are we taking our Mikasa?"

"_I'm _not sure where _I'm _taking her yet. You stay out of this." Kyo began to push Ayame out of the door. Ayame easily stepped aside and called out to Mikasa,

"Mikasa do you have anything to wear for this date? It will be quite tragic for you to wear…_that_." Mikasa looked at her ripped jeans and baggy shirt. He was right…she had nothing to wear!

"I don't have anything to wear. May I ask for your assistance?"

Kyo looked at her,

"You have no idea what you have just gotten yourself into! You look fine like that! Ayame get out of here!"

"But Kyo~ she just asked for _my _help! Don't worry, now. I know how to dress fine, young women like her! Come, come Mikasa~!" He reached over to her and pulled her in.

"Thank you so much, Ayame-san! Kyo, I'll see you soon!"

Kyo would _not_ have any of Ayame's shitty plans, so he began to reach out for Mikasa when he saw her face. It was lit up and joyful; something that he hadn't truly seen all this time that she was here. That stopped him; she deserved to be happy after this rough transition she was going through. Mikasa could defend herself just fine if he tried to do anything to her. He sighed,

"Fine. Whatever, I'll pick you up at his store. Oh and Ayame." His voice got cold, "Mikasa is _not _from around here. If you do anything to endanger her or make her feel uncomfortable, you _will _pay. Got it?"

Ayame got serious and looked at Kyo. Never had he heard Kyo talk like so before, he needed to show him that she was in good hands.

"Kyo, I'll treat her right, don't worry." He slightly bowed and turned around before he exploded into his silly self once again,

"Mikasa will be ready for you in one hour my boy~! Don't be late Kyo! Now, Mikasa I'm wondering what is your style~ believe me, we will have a lot of fun the next hour or so! Or at least _I _know _I will _hahaha~!"

Mikasa nodded and looked up at the sky,

_This is it Eren. I'm seeing the outside world for my very first time…for you and for Armin. I miss you Eren…but I have to fight to survive right? The kind of fighting here is different, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. My fight is to let you go, but not your memory. I'll always love you Eren; I won't ever forget you._

Mikasa took a deep breath as she began to talk with Ayame answering his question,

"My favorite color? I really like red, like this scarf."

And just like that they went off into the city where Ayame's shop was.


	14. Chapter 14

**-Chapter 14- **

Mikasa's eyes were filled with wonder as Ayame walked with her down to the city. The city was filled with glowing lights and even though it was daytime, she could see how they illuminated the city. The signs flickered on and off; she let out a small gasp when she noticed that. Ayame smiled,

"Are we enjoying ourselves?"

"Yes…this place is beautiful." Mikasa answered as she kept looking around,

"Of course it's beautiful! It's the street that has _my_ shop! Haha~!"

Mikasa smiled greatly, _this man is amazing, Eren. He has his own clothing shop! And the outside world is amazing; you wouldn't believe how beautiful it is._

"Here we are~ my fabulous shop that has changed the lives of many- including me- people!"

Mikasa walked in the shop with Ayame and was immediately blown away. There were dresses of all sorts and colors…they looked so beautiful! She followed him and kept noticing different things in the shop; some of them confused her.

"Ayame-san? Is this a costume shop?" Mikasa tilted her head,

"Of course it is!" Ayame winked at her; Mikasa simply smiled.

"So, you like that red scarf hm? I'm going to have to take you to a fancy dinner sometime! I would love to make you a dress that color! It would look amazing~!"

Ayame lead her into a small room towards the back that had a lot of different fabrics. He made her stand up on a small stool as he began to look at her from different directions.

"Ah! I forgot to introduce you to someone very important!" He clasped his hands as he walked away. Mikasa noted that he looked extremely fancy as he walked away, she did not know that it was a possible thing-

"Mikasa-chan~! This is my lovely assistant Mine!"

A small girl with two braids and glasses came into view. She looked so lovely next to Ayame!

_Alright! This is my chance to try and make a new friend! Try to be friendly…_

Mikasa smiled awkwardly as she bowed,

"Very nice to meet you Mine-san!"

Mine's eyes suddenly looked as if they were glowing; she went straight to Mikasa as she introduced herself,

"The pleasure is mine! You are incredibly beautiful! Ayame, do we get to dress her up today?!"

Without getting a response from Ayame, Mine suddenly gently grabbed Mikasa's shoulders. She began to turn Mikasa around several times studying her body.

"Perfect! I think I know what works for you~!" And with that Mine and Ayame walked off talking their hearts out. Mikasa barely had the time to blink before they came back with what looked like 10 outfits. She looked at them and sighed. _This might be a long afternoon. I do hope Kyo hurries._

Kyo was getting out of the shower; he was annoyed with himself. Yes, he had showered earlier that morning and _no_ he wasn't doing this because of this date. He shook his head, _dinner!_ He meant dinner dammit! He shut the bathroom door as he went over to his room. What should he wear…? Not that it mattered to him anyway! He just didn't want to look un-presentable! As he dressed himself he began to wonder what Mikasa liked to eat. She didn't strike him as the person who liked spicy food which was a shame. He wondered what her home was like; was it a dark place? He remembered that she mentioned something about 'its kill or be killed.' Well he might as well just wait; he was going to have to ask all these embarrassing questions on their dinner thing.

Kyo began to make his way towards Ayame's shop when a doubt began to rise from his stomach. Mikasa still didn't know about his curse…how would she react? He sighed as he looked at the floor; she would definitely label him as a freak and a monster. Why did he long to not be a monster for her? Was it because for the first time in his life he had the potential to save someone? He really wanted to help her in this new world…but he just _couldn't_. Everyone around him knew his role was not to help others. He had the role of shame; it was something that couldn't escape him…_ever._ Kyo sighed in frustration when he realized that he was in front of Ayame's shop.

"How long are you going to stand there for Kyonkichi~? Be a man and come on in!"

Kyo glared at Ayame,

"Be patient will ya?!" Kyo rolled his eyes as he walked into the shop but quickly stopped in his tracks. Ayame clapped his hands,

"Look at our lovely Mikasa! See? See! I can do an amazing job!"

A beautiful raven haired girl stood before him. Her hair was lightly curled and her bangs seemed to be pinned back. It showed her slender face more, instead of her usual bangs that draped between her eyes. She wore a black ruffle skirt that revealed her slender legs. She also wore a dark red shirt, a color like the scarf that she had. Her shirt had lace that formed a "V' revealing her neck that was usually covered with a scarf. Kyo stammered,

"Ya look good. I almost didn't recognize you…"

Mikasa looked at him with an obvious look of relief in her eyes. It was clear that she had never worn anything of this sort.

"Thank you Ayame-san for helping me out."

"Oh no problem my dear~! You have fun now and if you need a costume, you let me now!" Ayame winked and Kyo hit him in the head before Mikasa could ask what he meant.

"C'mon Mikasa let's get away from this freak." Kyo grabbed her arm and began to lead her into the city.

"You're supposed to intertwine your fingers with hers Kyonkichi~!" Ayame loudly yelled at them.

Kyo released her arm and put his hands in his pocket but Mikasa didn't notice since she was looking around her. This city seemed magical to her, it was simple breathtaking. Kyo kept grabbing her arm to pull her away from a couple of people that she was about to bump into,

"Hey, will you pay attention to where you're goin'?!"

"Right, sorry. It's just that this place is so amazing. It feels like I'm in a dream…"

Kyo felt a bit bad; this was seriously the first time that she had been in a city like this before,

"You'll be here for a while, y'know. Maybe I can take you out after we get some dinner. So…what exactly do you like to eat?"

Mikasa began to think,

"I really love spicy foods…but whatever you like is-"

"I like spicy foods too! I can show you this really good restaurant that Sensei took me; it has this really good Korean spicy food! You gotta try it out."

Mikasa nodded excitedly, she didn't really see him excited for anything so this must be really good food! Her arm felt warm; she realized that Kyo never let go of her arm. A small blushed formed on her cheeks as she silently hoped that it would be a good evening for her.


End file.
